White Snow: Expedition
by Vhetin1138
Summary: Book 4: Vhetin and Jay return to Coruscant to continue their hunt with another bounty hunter hot on their heels. See reviews for full synopsis. Rated T for violence and some language.
1. Chapter 1

Star Wars

White Snow

Expedition

A long time ago,

in a galaxy far, far away...

The story so far:

_Cin Vhetin and his partner Jay accepted a bounty posted by the crime lords Prince Xizor and Jabba the Hutt. The bounty was for a rival crime lord, a Twi'lek gangster named Kassh, who happened to have a long and colorful history with Vhetin._

_Vhetin turned to another crime lord, Sekha, for information about Kassh's whereabouts. She agreed to divulge her information, but only if Vhetin and Jay captured a Rodian named Pollamo, who had stolen billions of credits from her._

_Kassh, upon learning that Vhetin and his partner were hunting him, began to form a plan to assassinate Jay and draw Vhetin into a lethal trap._

_Now, Vhetin and Jay are headed back to Sekha's base on Coruscant with Pollamo and his dangerous adopted brother Kokr..._

Chapter 1: Leaving Rhen Var

**Unregistered smuggler's base, designation Alpha Base, Arctic Circle, Rhen Var**

The snow drifted lazily from the sky in big, puffy flakes. The storm had finally calmed after hours of raging winds strong enough to blast a ronto off its feet. The sun was peeking out from behind dull gray clouds, sending shafts of light onto the snowfields below in shimmering, scintillating shafts of gold. With a fresh, unmarred coat of snow covering the land for as far as the eye could see, everything looked bright and new and clean. It almost looked like a perfect winter snowfall, save for two things:

1. It was _summer_ on Rhen Var, and,

2. It was so cold outside that the majority of beings would freeze in under five minutes.

Not exactly the winter paradise that it looked.

Jay shuddered and rubbed her gloved hands together for warmth, trying to calm her seemingly uncontrollable shivering. Apparently heating systems in a mostly mechanized storage facility had been a low priority. She'd searched the storage facility for close to two hours and had found nothing but a small portable heater in one of the shipping crates in the back. The logo on the side read _Czerka Corporation._ Jay was huddled as close as safely possible to the portable heater, and she was still freezing.

_As soon as we get back to Mandalore, _she thought, her breath coming out as visible puffs in the air, _I'm going to take a nice long vacation to Mon Calamari. White sand beaches, warm weather, deep blue water, warm weather..._

She let out a quiet gasp and pulled her heavy overcoat more securely around herself.

The insurgency operation on the smuggler's outpost – which Jay had since designated Alpha Base – had gone off with barely a hitch. Save for a few minor snags, like Vhetin almost dying from hypothermia, the plan had gone smoothly. Pollamo and Kokr were safely in custody, and she and Vhetin were almost ready to get off this frozen hellhole of a planet to turn them over to Sekha.

Vhetin was still recovering from an almost-serious case of hypothermia and minor frostbite, but he'd said several times that he'd be fine. Since Jay had spoken to him a few hours earlier, he'd disappeared into the shadowy back rooms of the facility and Jay hadn't seen him since.

A part of her was worried that he was seriously injured, but the stronger part of her told her not to worry about him. He'd proven time and again over the course of her training that he was able to take care of himself, and she'd long since learned that it was futile to worry about him. He wasn't one to accept help easily, and he was as stubborn as a Trandoshan about not showing weakness.

Besides, he was a _Mandalorian_. They were the toughest of the tough, an entire civilization used to danger and rough times. For 'toy soldiers' as they were sometimes called, they didn't break easily.

So she relaxed as best as she could and thought about their present situation. It was one of the few things she could actually think about to get her mind off of things. After all, it was confusing enough to divert her attention for long periods of time.

She was still uncertain as to whether or not Sekha would actually give them the information they needed, namely the location of their primary bounty, a dangerous Twi'lek gangster named Kassh. If Sekha fed them false intel, their mission would become even more dangerous than previously thought.

But then again, after surviving the Rhen Var battle, Jay felt ready for anything.

She thought back to her fight with the manned turrets and the Imperial snowtroopers, when her mind had suddenly gone blank, her motions seemingly guiding themselves. It wasn't at all unlike what she'd learned about the Force when she'd been just a child. But she now knew this wasn't the Force, but rather something much more important.

_Instinct_.

She had finally settling into the mindset of a bounty hunter, remaining cool and calm even under tremendous pressure, where a normal being would break down and panic. Vhetin's training had honed her senses, forging her into a living, breathing weapon like a blacksmith with a well-made sword.

_Hell,_ she thought, _I'm even close to learning that pistol-spinning trick._ _I'll be a full-fledged, experienced merc sooner than I thought._

The thought didn't sound all that unappealing, even though she'd been told from a young age that bount hunters were the lowest of the low. She'd grown up on Corellia, where a good thirty percent of the population were smugglers or pirates, and most of the rest were law-abiding Imperial citizens. Consequently, she'd been fed a lot of stories that bounty hunters were greedy, immoral guns for hir who would trade another being's life for a pocketful of credits.

Thinking back, she'd long ago realized that she hadn't really given any thought to bounty hunters over the course of her life. She knew they were out there, but she'd never met any, never heard of any besides the infamous Boba Fett, and had certainly never expressed any desire to _become _one.

And then she'd met Vhetin. In a single day, her limited knowledge of bounty hunters – as well as her entire life – had been turned on its head. Vhetin had opened her eyes to a whole new galaxy behind the one she'd known. And though it was technically called the 'criminal' underworld, she hadn't seen anything remotely 'criminal' in Vhetin's actions. Sure, he made a living off bringing people to their doom, profiting from their pain, but could she say she was entirely innocent? She'd made a career in the Imperial military by killing hundreds of people from the cockpit of a starfighter.

Sekha's words came back to her, as if echoing from the shadows around her.

_Have you ever stared into the eyes of the being you were about to kill?_ Sekha had asked her. _Seen the terror, heard the sobbing and the pleading, then pressed the cold metal of the blaster to their forehead and killed them anyway?_

_ N-no,_ Jay had stammered back.

As disturbing as it was, Sekha had had a point. Jay had thought she was tough enough to be a bounty hunter simply because she'd killed before. It had never occurred to her that killing a being in her starfighter and killing a being that was standing right in front of her might be different.

She remembered the sudden wave of nausea that had washed over her as she'd surveyed the aftermath of Vhetin's fight on Coruscant with the assassins sent to kill them.

It all seemed so long ago; Tarron's message of the bounty on Kassh's, their fight on Coruscant, even the conversation Sekha only a few days ago. Her world had once again changed forever.

_No_, she suddenly thought. The galaxy was still the same. _She_ was the one who had changed. She was no longer the talented, young fighter pilot who had worked her way through the Imperial ranks, nor was she the enthusiastic student eager to learn the 'tricks' of bounty hunting. She felt as if she'd aged several hundred years in only days, and she doubted she'd ever be able to return to those innocent time of her military days, or even the darker, revenge-driven months of training under Vhetin's guidence.

And the odd thing was that she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to return to those days.

She shook her head in exasperation as Vhetin suddenly appeared from one of the back rooms. He seemed to melt away from the shadows in his black-gray armor, like a hawkbat against the night sky.

He rubbed his gloved hands together and triumphantly stated, "I finally got that comms array in the back working and I've sent out a beacon to _Void_. The self-pilot program kicked in remotely, and she should be here within a few minutes."

"Good good," Tal Wam muttered, sounding like he was talking mostly to himself. The spindly-looking Duros was huddled in his own corner, sniffing at a stale rations bar he'd found in the back room. He seemed to decide against eating it, and tossed it aside.

"For once I agree with him," Jay said, clambering to her feet and shivering. "How cold do you think it is outside?"

"My HUD says it's hovering at around thirty below. But this is summer, after all, and the temperature can get pretty wild this far north. In here, it's a balmy thirty-two degrees above."

"What about these two?" Jay asked, nudging the tightly-bound forms of Pollamo and Kokr with the tip of her boot. Kokr spat at her feet while Pollamo just whimpered and tried to cringe away from her. He was unsuccessful; Jay had bound their wrists together a few hours earlier, while they'd still been unconscious from a stun prod shock to the back of the head. All the Rodian succedded in accomplishing was yanking his brother's back against his.

Jay looked back up to Vhetin and said, "They don't have proper sub-zero suits. They'll freeze before we get them to the pickup location."

"That's not a problem," Vhetin said. He surveyed their bounties, then explained, "I've sent a command to Void to set down right in the middle of Bravo Base's courtyard. We'll only have about thirty meters to cross, then we're back onboard."

"Are you sure?" Jay asked. "I'm not too excited about risking hypothermia a second time. You aren't completely healed from the _last_ time we went outside."

"I'll be fine," Vhetin said quietly, flexing a gloved hand and wincing only slightly as he did.

Jay had to admire his self-control. He'd fought in the sub-zero temperatures of Rhen Var for almost fifteen minutes with minimal heating systems. He'd succumbed to mild hypothermia and frostbite in the end, and she was sure his skin was still raw from the biting cold outside.

"What we really need to worry about," the Mandalorian continued, "is the bounties trying to run while we move them."

He squatted in front of Kokr and shook his head in mock-disappointment. "I still can't believe that after all our courtesy, you've tried to escape _twice_ already. And handcuffed to your brother, you still thought you could run for it?"

He straightened and said, "It's a good thing that Jay had her stun prod ready, wasn't it?"

"Screw you, buckethead," Kokr spat. "I'm not goin' anywhere. I'd rather freeze out here than be turned in to Sekha. Death would be better than havin' to look that psycho in the eye."

Jay raised an eyebrow, seeing an opportunity to force a little more cooperation out of the two. "Really? And does Pollamo agree with you?"

Kokr's craggy face darkened, and he opened his mouth to say more. Jay beat him to it, however, and turned to Pollamo.

"Pollamo?" she asked the one-eyed Rodian. "Would you rather die a slow, painful death and freeze out there than be taken to Sekha and face imprisonment?"

Vhetin's helmeted gaze turned towards her, and he cocked his head slightly to one side. In the months they'd trained together, Jay had learned to read his body language like she read the facial expressions of everyone else. In many ways, even the slightest movement from him was more expressive than any scowl or grin from a normal being's face. And his body language currently stated his mind: _That isn't true_.

Yes, Jay was well aware of the fact that Sekha would most likely _not_ imprison Pollamo and Kokr, but rather make them face the most slow and painful death her devious mind could think up. But if they were going to get any cooperation out of either of them, Pollamo, at least, had to be fooled. The Rodian, for all his cowardice, was clearly the head of the organization on Rhen Var, and Kokr would follow his brother like the obedient eiopie he was.

"Sekha isn't exactly the most merciful being in the galaxy," Jay continued, "but she won't waste valuable time and money to kill you. Trust me; I've known her for a long time."

The lies were becoming bigger and bigger; if she continued like this, she risked losing the bait and revealing her deception.

Vhetin was staring at her, showing the slightest sign of approval. Jay paid it no notice; if she was going to sell this, her attention had to be solely on Pollamo.

"Now, I know you'd rather stay alive than freeze to death out here. Am I right? A life of imprisonment is better than no life at all."

"Don't listen to her!" Kokr snarled. "She's lying! Sekha will rip out our-"

"Listen to the voice of reason," Jay said quietly, looking the Rodian directly in his compound eye, trying to look as honest as possible. "You don't want to die out here, do you?"

"-and stuff them up our-"

"Sekha's a busy woman. She's got much more important things to do than watch a simple thief fry over a single day's income."

"I..." Pollamo hesitated, his proboscis shriveling up in the Rodian equivalent of a human biting her lip, then whispered, "I'd prefer to live."

Jay nodded, smiling sweetly. "Good. I knew you'd see it my way."

"Don't listen to her!" Kokr roared. "She's a lying bitch who's trying to-"

Jay glanced up at her partner and gestured to Kokr. "May I?" she asked.

Vhetin nodded slowly and turned away, disappearing into the shadows of the facility once more. "Go ahead," his voice said out of the darkness. "Do us all a favor."

She pulled the deactivated stun prod from her belt and pressed it against Kokr's neck. A loud snap echoed through the storage facility, a shower of red-hot sparks flew from the tip of the prod, and Kokr slumped over, cut off mid-sentence.

Jay stood, collapsed the stun prod, and tucked it back onto her belt. "Good," she said. "I'm glad that's settled. Are you going to cooperate now that your brother's not breathing down your neck?"

Pollamo squeaked and fell silent. Kokr groaned.

She began to move back towards the northwestern corner of the facility, to their meager pile of supplies. But before she could, Vhetin suddenly fell into step next to her and said, "Can I have a word with you? Away from the bounties."

"If this is about what I just said to Pollamo-"

"It isn't," he said. "It's more important than that."

"Then lead the way, I guess," Jay said, shrugging. She stooped, grabbed a water thermos from the pile, and followed Vhetin into the back room.

He closed the door behind her as she entered the room, which seemed to be a workshop of some kind. There was a large durasteel bench along one wall that was littered with tools; welders, hydrospanners, dampers, and fusion cutters mostly.

"What's up?" Jay asked, taking a swig from the water thermos. For some reason, the cold had made her throat parched and dry.

Vhetin glanced out the window and said, "I'm afraid I have some bad news."

"Oh good" she sighed. "We haven't had any bad news in a few hours. I was getting worried."

Vhetin ignored her sarcasm and said, "When I got the comm relay working, I picked up an emergency transmission from another outpost a few hundred kilometers from our location."

"What did it say?"

"Apparently," Vhetin said, "this outpost's employees made it to the other base and the Imperials have sent out an emergency beacon to the nearest Imperial Navy base."

"Uh-oh."

She and Vhetin had stormed this base and taken the leaders of the operation captive. If they were caputred, there would be severe repurcussions.

But, considering Jay was a prison escapee, she didn't think the Empire would be taking prisoners.

"Then we need to get out of here now," Jay said. "We can't risk being here when the Imps arrive."

"Yeah," Vhetin agreed. "But _Void_ won't be here for a few minutes. And a Star Destroyer is already in orbit."

_Oh kark it all_, Jay thought. She sighed and said, "How much time do we have?"

Vhetin opened the door and moved out of the room. "Let me put it this way: the sooner we can get out of here, the better our chances."

His pace was quick as he strode for the opening stud for the huge loading dock door. As the door rumbled open with a metallic shriek, Vhetin said over his shoulder, "And there's another problem."

Jay was about to ask what he was talking about when the door pulled back completely and she saw that the entire entrance was buried in packed snow. Chunks of snow fell free and spread across the floor.

"Okay..." Jay said slowly. It looked as if the snow had completely buried the entire storage facility. There would be no digging out of that mess.

"Yeah. It isn't much of a problem, but-"

"Wait, what? It isn't _much_ of a problem?" Jay said incredulously. She walked up to the wall of snow and pounded on it with her fist. A small dent appeared in the rock-hard face of the barrier, but nothing more than that.

She gestured to the wall. "That thing might as well be made of durasteel. We aren't going to get through it."

Vhetin looked from her to the snow wall, scrutinizing it carefully. After a moment, he leveled his left arm towards the wall of snow and ice, and hit a small trigger on the top of his armored gauntlet.

There was a sputter of flame, then a white-hot inferno washed against the barrier. Jay started and jumped back from the sudden torrent of fire, covering her ears as a deafening roar filled the storage facility. Vhetin didn't seem bothered by his close proximity to the flood of fire; he just leaned closer to the snow wall, making sure the fire was directed in a focused column against the snow. After only moments, a human-sized depression was melted in the ice.

"Oh," Jay said, slowly lowering her hands. "You have a flamethrower."

"I have a flamethrower," he repeated, sounding amused. He turned his attention back to the snow and leaned forward, concentrating the flow of fire even harder against the wall. Jay had to step back a bit to avoid a tendril of flame that snaked across the face of the barrier like a living being.

It wasn't much of a surprise; Vhetin's armor was full of different gadgets and equipment, from missiles to projectile dart guns to — evidently — flamethrowers. The bounty hunter was a walking weapon machine.

He turned a small dial on the side of his gauntlet and the wash of fire narrowed into a small column of red-orange light that tunneled into the snow and sent heated water splashing back into the room. Jay could feel the heat of the flames against his arms and chest, a welcome change from the freezing cold of the past few hours.

Water sloshed down around his boots and ran across the floor, slowly spreading back into the storage facility. When the miniature flood reached Kokr's limp form, the man sputtered and looked up, muttering, "What the kark?"

Tal Wam scurried forward, his stun prod raised, but Jay held out a hand and said, "No. We're going to need him conscious of we're going to get them out of here."

The Duros looked crestfallen, but settled for kicking his former employer in the side before retreating back to his corner.

Jay leaned back against the wall and waited.

This wouldn't take long.

* * *

><p>Vhetin grunted as water splashed back against his helmet. His HUD software sent a miniscule electrical charge along the surface of his visor that made the water sputter and evaporate, leaving his helmet dry and clean. He checked his progress with his makeshift tunnel, then glanced over his shoulder and said, "Okay. I'm almost through the first couple feet. Jay, go ahead and gather up our supplies. We're going to need to get out of here quick."<p>

Jay nodded, turning to her pack and the rest of their supplies. As she zipped up her bulky overcoat once more, she said, "Where's _Void_? Close, I hope?"

"She's already holding position above the outpost," Vhetin grunted, increasing the fuel flow to his flamethrower and causing the flames the fan out in an even greater arc. His arm was sunk into the snow up to his shoulder, and water was now pouring down out of the makeshift tunnel in a miniature waterfall.

Jay slung her pack over her shoulder and motioned for Tal Wam to haul the bounties to their feet. "Okay. We're ready when you are, Stripes."

Vhetin nodded and leaned even further into the hole. Soon his entire uppper body was inside the tunnel he'd made.

Jay leaned forward, slung the supply pack over her shoulders, and made sure her gloves were safely pulled down past her wrists.

"Okay," Vhetin called, motioning for them to follow him. "Come on. I've got our exit."

Jay nodded and activated her stun prod, waving it at their bounties. "You heard the Mando," she said. "On your feet."

Pollamo whimpered and struggled to his feet. Kokr looked as if he was going to try and stay right where he was, but Jay poked him in the small of his back with the stun prod. He grew dramatically more obedient after that.

Vhetin stepped into the tunnel and began punching a bigger hole to the outside. He sent a remote activation signal to _Void_ and sent the self-pilot computer coordinates for a quick touchdown. He saw a shadow pass overhead as the ship moved to obey his commands.

He heard a scraping sound and a cry of surprise from the tunnel behind him and called down, "Careful. The melted snow and ice made the floor a little slippery."

"Slip slip," Tal Wam agreed from somewhere behind him. "Slip slip."

Vhetin braced his arms against the huge snowdrift that had covered the storage facility and hauled himself out of the tunnel and turned to help pull the rest up and out.

Pollamo and Kokr came first. Since their hands were tied, and Vhetin was in no mood to untie them to allow them to pull themselves out, he had to pull Pollamo up by hooking his arms under the Rodian's shoulders and hauling both his and Kokr's weight through the tunnel. Jay and Tal Wam helped by pushing on Kokr from below.

"No!" Kokr yelled as he grabbed hold of either side of the tunnel exit. "No, I 'aint goin' back to Sekha! I'm dyin' right here!"

"No... you're... not," Jay growled from below, and shoved harder on Kokr's massive chest.

Vhetin stumbled and fell backwards with a grunt as Pollamo and his brother suddenly broke free of the tunnel's exit and landed in a heap next to the large melted hole. As he got to his feet again, he saw Tal Wam scramble free, his long arms and legs helping him pull himself up with little problem. Vhetin stepped forward and helped Jay up as Tal Wam guarded the prisoners.

"Thanks," Jay said, as Vhetin pulled her up through the hole in the snow. She planted her feet along the snow wall and clambered up into the open air.

Vhetin turned, surveying the current state of the former Imperial listening outpost.

The snow had covered more than he'd thought; he could now see only the tops of the buildings. The rest had been completely buried in meters-deep snow. The sky was now clear, not a cloud in the sky. A small flock of furred tundra birds - an example of Rhen Var's minor amount of native wildlife – flew over their heads, squawking and swooping low over the snowy ground.

The snow was kicked up in the downdraft of _Void_'s engines as the transport came in for a landing. It settled down on its landing struts, and the entry ramp slid down.

"Okay," Vhetin said, "let's get aboard."

He grabbed Kokr by the back of the neck and pushed the two helpless bounties toward the ship. Tal Wam sprinted toward the ship, obviously eager to get from one safe area to another.

Jay, however, didn't move toward the ship. Vhetin turned back to her and said, "Come one. We're on a tight schedule here, remember?"

She was frowning, her head cocked to oene side. When Vhetin spoke, she held up a hand and said, "Shh."

Vhetin froze where he was. Something was wrong.

Jay looked around the courtyard, then frowned deeper. "Do you hear that?"

Vhetin cocked his head again and listened intently. He heard the breeze blowing past his helmet's audio recievers, heard the distant calls of the tundra birds, but nothing that would cause Jay such concern.

"I don't hear anything," he said.

Jay's eyes widened, and she said, "Probably because I'm more used to the sound. Move. _Now!_"

Vhetin frowned and increased the sensitivity in his helmet's audio recievers to maximum reception. Then he heard what had caused Jay such alarm.

The distant screaming roar of TIE fighter engines.

"_Shab_," Vhetin muttered and broke into a run for the ship. Jay was right beside him, saying, "Damn imperials must have found us faster than you thought."

They entered the ship, Vhetin hitting the door controls on his way past.

"Jay!" Vhetin shouted as he sprinted towards the cockpit. "Get the bounties secured!"

"Already on it," she called back. "Just get us out of here!"

He barely waited for the cockpit door to open completely; he slipped in as soon as he was able and threw himself at the console. An enemy contact alarm blared through the small room, and he silenced it. He didn't even bother with the pre-flight system check; he just warmed the sublight engines and grasped the control yoke, sliding into the pilot's seat.

The door hissed open again and Jay breathlessly said, "Why haven't we left yet? Those TIEs will be all over us!"

"I'm going as fast as I can," Vhetin growled, tighting his grip on the controls. "In the meantime, get on the guns and watch our six."

"Okay," Jay said and fell into the gunner's seat. "Just... work fast, okay?"

The ship shook as it lifted off, and both Vhetin and Jay fastened their safety restraints. The ship began to slowly pick up speed, headed for the atmosphere, but it still wasn't fast enough. The TIE fighters screamed over a distant snow dune, close enough to be seen now. There were eight of them; swooping low over the terrain and headed straight for them.

"Jay..." Vhetin said slowly. "Any time now..."

Jay didn't answer; her attention was completely focused on the display in front of her. As soon as the enemy fighters came within range, she pulled the trigger on the gunnery joystick. Vhetin threw a glance at the ship's motion tracker and saw one enemy contact disappear.

An explosion rocked through the ship as the fighters passed over them, almost ripping the two out of their seats. An alarm blared through the cockpit and the lights dimmed to an emergency red.

"Turbolaser hits!" Vhetin called, typing commands into the ship's control panel. "Starboard shields are at seventy-five percent!"

He glanced over at Jay. "I need those fighters gone _now_!"

Jay scowled and leaned towards the turret display. Her right hand danced over the controls while her left manned the joystick. She pulled the joystick's trigger and cursed.

"Damn it!" she shouted, slammer her hand against the display. "They're too fast!"

"Do your best," Vhetin said as he pulled back on the control yoke and sent the ship blasting away from the planet surface. He watched as the shields slowly began to slowly charge once more.

She muttered something and tensed as the TIEs swooped around for a second pass. She narrowed her eyes and pulled the trigger twice. The motion tracker showed two enemy contacts disppear from the screen.

He pushed the engines until they were running at 120 percent capacity, but it was still too slow to outrun the TIE fighters. The Imperial ships passed twice more, draining shipwide shields to almost 20 percent. Jay managed to pick off two more, and let out a quiet "hoo-ah," of victory.

But there was still three left, and _Void_'s motion tracker showed eight more on the way.

"Screw this," Vhetin muttered, and pushed the engines to 250 percent. The ship rocked and bucked, but held her course for the upper atmosphere.

"Hey!" Jay was almost thrown out of her seat. "Do you know how hard it is to shoot like this?"

"Just keep them off my back," Vhetin snapped, booting up the navicomputer and typing in coordinates for the nearest star system. They needed to be able to enter hperspace as soon as they hit open space. "TIEs don't have shields; we should lose them once we hit the atmosphere."

No sooner had the words left his helmet's vocoder than the sky outside the ship became tinged with red. The TIEs were forced to slow and pull back, but four of them attempted to follow. Vhetin stubbornly held course, and the shields flared as they entered mid-atmosphere. Flames crawled around the cockpit's transparisteel viewport, and Vhetin had to hand over control to the self-pilot system. He could no longer control the ship at these velocities. A deep rumble began to drown out sound in the cockpit, and Vhetin set his audio recievers to filter out the sound.

The screeching sound of rending metal echoed from further back in the ship, and Vhetin looked over at the ship status display.

"We've lost a half-meter of armor plating from the port stabilizers!" he called over the roar of the ship's exit burn. "We can't keep this up much longer."

Jay pushed away from the gunnery console. This far in the atmosphere, the guns were useless anyway. She swiveled to face the front viewport and murmured, "Keep your fingers crossed that we-"

The ship bucked as one of the nearest TIE fighters exploded, torn apart by the strain of following _Void_'s exit burn. It's octagonal solar-gather wings flew from the ship's cockpit, and one of them slammed into the side of the ship.

"Hull breach!" Jay shouted over the rumbling that filled the ship. "That wing tore through the hull. There's a half-meter tear along the port side of the ship, and we're venting atmosphere _fast_."

"Seal off that room!" Vhetin barked as two more of the TIEs exploded. Now, only one remained.

Even as he watched, the TIE spiraled out of control and lost power, dipping back into the atmosphere and plummeting back to the ground kilometers below.

Moments later, they broke through the upper atmosphere and rocketed into open space. Vhetin breathed a sigh of relief and eased back on the engines, which had been redlining for two minutes now.

But they weren't out of this yet. As they watched, the triangular shadow of a Star Destroyer rumbled over their head.

"They're trying to cut us off from our hyperspace exit!" Jay cried in disbelief.

Vhetin struck his flat palm against the navicomputer box; they were still a few seconds away from locked-in coordinates.

The Star Destroyer rotated, bringing its turbolasers to bear on the ship.

"Get. This. Thing. _Moving_!" Jay shouted.

A completion tone sounded from the navicomputer, and Vhetin slammed the hyperspace lever forward.

In the viewscreen, the stars stretched into streaks, spinning in dizzying arcs. Then the ship blasted forward, into the multi-dimensional area of hyperspace. The view through the transparisteel morphed into a spinning tunnel of blue white streaks.

An all-encompassing silence suddenly filled the ship. Jay stared straight ahead, her eyes wide. Vhetin was doing the same; barely moving, barely breathing; just thinking, _Am I dead? Are we all dead?_

He looked down at the motion tracker and saw it clear of hostile contacts. The rest of the ship was functioning normally, save for a slight coolant leak off of the damaged stabilizers and the overheating sublight engines.

_We made it, _he thought. _I don't believe it, but we actually _made_ it!_

He let out an explosive breath and slumped forward against the control console. Jay sighed and ran a hand through her hair, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Are all your getaways this close?" she breathed, opening a single eye and looking over at him.

He shook his head, his heart still pounding in his ears. "Not always. Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. How are the bounties?"

Vhetin hit another button on the command console and a holo of the cage room shimmered into existence. The two bounties were sprawled on the ship floor and twitching. The shaking of the ship had probably thrown them into the energy field. They weren't dead, just unconscious. Tal Wam was in one corner of the room, clutching at his stun prod as if it were a lifesaver.

"Everyone's fine," he said. "A little banged up, but fine."

"Good," Jay sighed. "I'd hate to go through all that drama just to lose the bounties."

They sat in silence for a long time, catching their breath. After a long bout of silence, Jay cleared her throat and said, "So what now?"

"Um... We're headed to the nearest Imperial-free system," Vhetin said. "Then we'll jump to Coruscant and drop off the bounties."

Jay shook her head and stood shakily. "Okay... Um, I'm going to head back and get some rest. Is that all right?"

Be my guest," Vhetin said, standing and following her out of the cockpit. "I may even do the same. There isn't much to do while we're in hyperspace anyway."

Jay shook her head again and said, "Wake me when the entire galaxy isn't trying to kill us, will you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Revelations and Retributions

**Six hours later**

Jay settled back in the copilot's seat and put her hands behind her head, closing her eyes and letting out a quiet sigh.

It was six hours after their death-defying escape from Rhen Var. She had tried to get some sleep, but had found it impossible considering all that they had just been through. So she'd settled for dozing off in the cockpit, where she'd at least know if anything was going wrong.

As far as she could tell, the ship was running fine, and there were few problems. She wasn't entirely sure; the ship's systems were unlike any she'd seen before. But she was confident that her interpretation of the strange readouts and displays filled with Mandalorian runes was fairly accurate.

Vhetin was still in his quarters, probably more successful in getting some well-deserved rest than she'd been.

She'd been thinking about checking up on him. She knew _Void_ had remote security holorecorders, but she didn't have the slightest clue how to work it. Besides, she didn't want to invade her friend's privacy.

So she relaxed against her seat and carefully placed her feet up on an empty area of the control console, slowly letting herself relax into a state of uneasy sleep.

Suddenly, she heard a quiet beep from the command console, a soft sound that nonetheless shattered the silence of the cockpit. She opened a single eye and saw that the blue comm light was flashing. That meant _Void_ had an incoming call.

That shouldn't be possible; comm waves couldn't travel fast enough to reach a ship in hyperspace. The multi-dimensional 'otherspace' was a virtual dead-zone for communications. But there it was; the comm was blinking, just as if the ship had an incoming call.

She sat up straight in her seat and glanced around the cockpit. If this was a message for Vhetin, she couldn't very well answer for him; she may be his partner, but they weren't _that_ good friends yet. But the light was flashing faster now, and he apparently wasn't seeing the comm light in the captain's quarters.

She hit the intership comm button and said, "Vhetin? You've got a message. You might want to get up here."

There was no response. She waited almost half a minute, then said, "Vhetin? Hello? We have a message. Are you there?"

Still, there was no reply. So she sighed, moved over to the pilot's seat, and clicked the flashing comm button. Static filled the cockpit for a moment, then everything went deathly quiet.

Jay frowned. _What? That's not normal_.

"Hello?" she asked slowly. There was no response.

"Who is this?"

Still, no sound issued from the cockpit's speakers. She thought it was an equipment malfunction for a moment. But when she listened carefully, she could hear breathing on the other end of the line. That meant there was someone else on the other end. But who was it?

"State your business or I'm cutting comms," Jay said. "And I-"

A quiet, smooth female voice suddenly said, "I warned that idiot Matele, and I'm going to warn you as well: stay away from Kassh. He's _my_ bounty."

"What?" Jay said, taken aback for a moment. "What are you-"

"If you keep hunting him," the woman interrupted, "I'll find _you_ before you can even get close to him. And when I do, I'll grind your skull under my boot. He's _my_ bounty, and _I'm_ claiming the reward."

"I don't-"

"I've been hunting bounties since you were just a kid dreaming about fast speeders and big blasters, and I've brought down more big names than you can count. So don't cross me, or I'll make sure you end up dead."

There was a pause, then the woman said, "Consider yourself warned."

The comm channel cut off with a sputter of white noise. After a few moments, the speakers automatically shut down, filling the cockpit with uneasy silence. Jay stared at the now-dim comm button with wide eyes.

_Who the hell was _that_?_

She shook her head to clear it. Whoever that was didn't sound friendly, and they sure as hell sounded like they meant business.

She didn't know what to do about this. Vhetin had once said something about hostile competition, but it didn't raise her hopes at all.

_Bounty hunting is a dangerous profession on any given day_, he'd told her. _But when other hunters get involved, you begin to walk a _very_ fine line, and things get especially treacherous._

_ How so_? she'd asked.

_Because once other hunters join in the fray, you've got people gunning at each other — and at you — from all directions. And when there's a pile of credits involved, things only get worse. It's like throwing a pail of chum into a tank of razor sharks. It becomes a no-holds-barred, last-man-standing free-for-all._

If this mysterious threat was just the beginning of other competition for Kassh, then things were going to get nastier than even Vhetin had predicted.

So she tapped the intership comm button again and said, "Vhetin, you need to get up here now. We've got a problem."

* * *

><p>Vhetin knelt in the pitch-black, dressed only in his simple combat pants, eyes closed. He felt his heartbeat, a slow, steady rhythm in his chest. The air was cool against his bare skin, and he shivered slightly as he concentrated on the all-encompassing hum of the ship's engines. He basked in the deep, quiet rumble that had always calmed him down, no matter how tense he was.<p>

And for what he was about to do, he'd need every ounce of calm and serenity he could muster.

He let out a long breath and placed his hands on the warped piece of metal shrapnel in front of him. Even though he couldn't see it directly, he knew its every miniscule detail; the blackened, jagged edges, the polished chromium finish on what little undamaged area was left, the scuff marks and the faded fingerprints from his previous attempts, as well as the intricate black symbol that had been cut in half by its proximity to the burnt edge. He had attempted to match the symbol to all known Imperial logos and codes, smuggler's emblems, even gang logos, but had come up empty time and time again.

His fingers quivered slightly as they brushed the cool surface of the metal. An electric charge seemed to go through him at the feel of the durasteel, and he shivered again. He let out a shaking breath, feeling his heart beating in his throat from anticipation and nervousness.

He sunk deeper into his subconscious, letting all tension slowly drain from his body. He began to shiver, and he felt his eyes roll back in his head to an angle that was almost painful.

The sound of the ship's engines seemed to fade into the distance as he drew further and further into himself. After a few moments, he could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing but the metal beneath his fingers.

Then, with a tremendous amount of willpower, he forced his mind _into_ the shrapnel, feeling his consciousness flow into it as if it had become an extension of his body. It was painful, but pain barely registered while he was meditating in such a fashion.

The darkness within his mind was lit up by a sudden flash of silent white light. He flinched, his face pulling into a strained frown.

Another flash of light, this time accompanied by a loud rushing noise in his head. A third flash, and his head jerked all the way to one side as if he'd been struck. He let out a quiet grunt and pushed down harder on the metal as his fingers began to slide off of it.

He heard a new sound, the labored scream of a damaged starship's engines, and the flash of light turned red and began to blink slowly. An alarm rang through the silence, and Vhetin let out a gasp, his face now the perfect image of agony.

A voice rang through his mind, echoing as if from a long distance away. Rame's voice.

"_Get him out of there! He's still alive!_"

Vhetin let out an inarticulate shout and pushed harder on the metal. Rame's voice grew louder, shouting, "_Help me, damn it!_"

"Before," Vhetin muttered. He _knew_ all this already. "I need what happened _before!_"

Brianna's smooth voice now joined Rame's. "_Move fast_," she said, her voice tinged with panic, "_the engines are going to go any second now! One, two, three, _pull!"

A splitting bolt of agony shot through Vhetin's head and he fell forward onto his hands and knees, barely managing to keep his hands on the piece of metal. His breathing was labored, and his eyes rolled wildly in his head. He let out a moan and choked out, "_Before!_"

A new voice split the silence. Now it was Jay's voice that suddenly said, "_Vhetin? You've got a message. You might want to get up here."_

"No!" he wheezed. "I... need-"

Brianna's voice again. "_It looks like his back was flayed open by that shrapnel. Holy _kriff_ I can see his _ribs_. This guy's one tough _shabuir."

"_Let's just get him back to the farm,_" Rame snapped. "_He won't last long out here._"

"_Who do you think he is?_"

"_I have no clue. It's hard to even see his face through all the blood. Can you just shut up and help me carry him?_"

"_Vhetin? Hello? We have a message. Are you there?"_

"_Whoever you are, buddy, you've had one hell of an accident."_

The roaring in his head slowly subsided, dwindling to a quiet tingling buzz behind his eyes. The flashes of light came slower now, pulsing through his mind with decreased regularity until they eventually faded completely, leaving Vhetin alone once more in the pitch darkness.

"_Don't worry_," Brianna's voice whispered in the dark. "_You're going to be all right. We've got you. You're safe with us._"

Vhetin collapsed, breathing hard. His heart was hammering in his ears, and his body was quivering as if he'd just finished ten thousand sit-ups.

He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and, with a shout of rage, threw the piece of shrapnel across the room. It hit the far bulkhead with a _clang_, then fell to his cot.

He collapsed again and pressed his hands against the side of his head, his breath coming in gulping gasps.

Months of meditation practice, of calming his mind and trying not to count the days till he tried again, and still... _nothing_!

He slammed his fist into the durasteel floor, scowling. Brianna had said that all he needed was time, but that was now a load of crap. He'd waited four months to try again, giving his mind time to rest after the last attempts, but he still couldn't penetrate any deeper than before.

_Four months_ of waiting. Wasted.

He sighed and sat back, trying to slow his pounding heart. _Pull it together, Vhetin, _he thought. _It's not the end of the universe. It'll just take some time._

But the more the months went on, the less and less he believed that.

The intercom buzzed and Jay's voice said, "Vhetin, you need to get up here now. We've got a problem."

He stared at the intercom speaker, uncomprehending. His mind was completely focused on his internal problems that he'd temporarily forgotten that he was in the middle of a hunt.

He shook his head and thought again, _Pull it together. You've got a job to do._

Then he grabbed his armored flak vest and helmet and headed for the door.

* * *

><p>"What's the problem?" Vhetin asked, stepping through the cockpit door in full body armor, as usual. "Did the nav computer send you a mass-shadow proximity warning?"<p>

"No," Jay replied, moving over to the copilot's seat once more. "I just got a weird message."

He frowned. Comm messages shouldn't be able to reach them while in hyperspace. He slid into the pilot's seat, saying, "Did you record the message?"

She nodded. "Of course."

He triggered the message and listened intently. As the woman's voice growled, "Consider yourself warned," he frowned deeper beneath his helmet.

"Was that it?" he asked, turning to Jay. When she nodded, he said, "Well, I think I can solve the mystery of how the message got to us while we're in hyperspace at least. It looks like someone dropped a hyperspace comm beacon set to lock onto _Void_'s transponder signal."

"A hyperspace beacon?" Jay asked. "Isn't that a little archaic?"

Hyperspace communication beacons had been used in the fledgling Old Republic to spread priority orders to capital ships in hyperspace. A carrier ship would drop one of the round, black comm beacons while traveling in hyperspace. After a time, a ship would pass with a transponder signal matching that of the comm beacon. The beacon would send the ship a small message, usually text only, in the in the microsecond it took for the ship to pass by. The general galactic impression was that no one had used comm beacons in over nine hundred years.

Vhetin shook his head. "Not as much as you would think. Galactic governments have long since abandoned hyperspace beacons, but bounty hunters, pirates, and smugglers have been using them for emergency transmissions for generations now."

He leaned back in the pilot's seat and said, "You were right; we do have a problem. Whoever dropped that beacon obviously wants us to drop the Kassh contract. And they know quite a lot about me and my ship."

When Jay stared at him uncomprehendingly, he explained, "They knew the number for _Void_'s ship transponder computer, which has the best counter-tracing software that credits can buy. And they knew which hyperspace route we were traveling on, which is worrying in and of itself."

"So, basically, they know who we are, where we are, and where we're headed," Jay clarified. "Right?"

"And who we're hunting. All with a precision that makes me uncomfortable," he said, leaning forward and tapping a command into the control panel. The ship blared an alarm, which he quickly silenced.

"Hold on," he said. "I'm bringing us out of hyperspace for an emergency stop. I need to get this recording to Tarron."

He pulled back a series of levers and the ship groaned as the hyperdrive reversed itself. The stars resolved into their usual twinkling pinpoints as the ship ripped itself back into realspace, and Vhetin's safety restraints strained from the sudden deceleration.

He quickly typed commands into _Void_'s control console, and the ship's comm unit powered up with a quiet whine. Vhetin typed in a comm number and hit the transmitter button.

"Tarron," he said into the comm's vocoder. "Tarron Matele, come in."

"I'm here, Vhetin," the Journeyman Protector's deep voice replied. "What's up?"

"We just got a threat message from another bounty hunter. I need to know who it is."

There was a chuckle from the other end of the comm. "Why? Feeling threatened? Worried you'll run into some serious competition?"

"They may have bugged the ship. Maybe even booby-trapped it."

There was silence over the comm. Then Tarron said, "Transmit the message. I'll get it analyzed and get back to you as soon as I can."

"Thanks."

Vhetin signed off the comm and sighed, running a hand along the smooth dome of his helmet. "The sooner he can get back to us, the better of we'll be. We need to know exactly who's on our tail."

"You're worried," Jay said. It wasn't a question. "Who are you worried about?"

Vhetin shrugged. "Right now, I'm just confused. But if other hunters are finding out that Kassh is loose again..."

"You're worried about Boba Fett, aren't you?" Jay guessed.

It was a good guess, Vhetin had to admit. The name was feared all across the galaxy. Encased from head-to-toe in generations-old combat armor, scarred and pockmarked from countless battles and bounty hunting missions, Boba Fett was a larger-than-life boogeyman for all manner of beings on either side of the law.

While Darth Vader was usually seen as the iron fist of the Empire, there were limits to what he'd soil his shiny black boots doing. And where Vader failed, they sent in Fett. He inspired fear in all those who found themselves in his path, and it was said that many bounties just gave up when they saw he was coming, rather than be subjected to painful tortures and punishments for attempting to flee from him.

_That_ was a serious reputation.

Vhetin shrugged. "In a way. He's so good, no bounty has ever escaped from him."

"I have trouble believing that," Jay said, leaning back in the pilot's seat and folding her arms. "The guy would have to be some kind of Force-user."

"Or supersoldier?" Vhetin said, amused.

She shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. You've never lost a bounty, right?"

"Actually, no," Vhetin said, swiveling in his seat and powering up the hyperdrive again. "There have been a couple that I've lost."

"How many?"

"Six," he replied, deadpan. "And that's still too many."

"Is that why you aren't a big name in the galaxy as Fett?" she asked.

He tapped a code into the nav computer, then pulled back a lever and sent the ship hurtling back into hyperspace. "Partially. It's partially because Fett's been around since the Clone Wars, and I've only made my way into the galactic picture in the last seven years."

He set the ship on self-pilot and added, "Still, second-best isn't all bad."

"You're an honorable loser," Jay said with a grin.

"Rame says it's one of my most redeeming qualities. It's also the same quality that keeps me in second place."

"How so?"

"I'm not as ambitious as other bounty hunters; some have gone as far as saying I'm lazy. But I enjoy being in second place. I'm not a big name like Fett, but I'm known well enough that I make a decent living."

He leaned back in his seat and carefully put his feet up on the command console. "You can go ahead and get some rest, Jay," he said. "We won't arrive for another hour or so. I'll call you when we're there."

Jay nodded and left the cockpit. The door slid shut with a hiss behind her, and Vhetin turned his gaze back to the oddly warped tunnel of hyperspace.

He set his HUD to wake him in an hour — well before their arrival time — and settled back further in his seat. He let out a long breath and closed his eyes, letting the sounds of the ship's engines soothe his mind and carry him into the realm of dark, dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>Jay heard the door hiss shut behind her, and she strode towards the crew's quarters that served as her cabin, still thinking over her conversation with Vhetin.<p>

She saw her friend as a lot of things; a cunning warrior, a brilliant bounty hunter, as well as a bit of an idol to her. But laid-back, lazy, and lacking ambition? Not a chance.

In Jay's experience, Vhetin was very straight-minded, always keeping his mind on the tasks at hand. And once he set his mind to something, there was no stopping him. Once during combat practice, he hadn't even noticed Rame calling his name; his mind had been so focused on their duel that nothing else could penetrate his concentration. She would have bet a bomb could have gone off behind him and he would have used the distraction to his advantage in the duel. So the thought of him as a lazy, unambitious bounty hunter just didn't seem to fit his personality.

But then again, she'd known him for only a few months now. How could she expect to understand him so well when she barely knew the first thing about him? He was still a mystery to her, a mystery she didn't think she would ever even understand, let alone solve.

But as she keyed open the door to the crew's quarters, a thought occurred to her; a very... intriguing thought. She hesitated, thinking, _Is this really a good idea?_ Then she turned away and headed back up the hall, stepping lightly, almost sneaking.

_Void_'s door control consoles weren't code-locked. Once you deciphered the pattern of the strange Mandalorian runes that adorned the keypads, they weren't hard to understand. Vhetin had once told her that he could remotely lock down every door in the ship from the cockpit in case of an intruder. It made Jay very nervous, because that's exactly what _she_ was about to be.

Every instinct in her body screamed at her to stop and head back to her own room, but her curiosity had always been stronger than her sense of reason.

And besides, Vhetin wasn't exactly the most chatty being in the galaxy. How else was she going to find out more about him?

She paused at the first door down from the cockpit and bit her lower lip nervously, her finger hovering over the opening key.

_It's finally happened_, she thought to herself. _I have now completely lost my mind. Sneaking into Vhetin's quarters? If I'm caught, it will destroy every ounce of trust that's formed between us._

And how could they ever be partners if Vhetin didn't trust her?

She grimaced. She didn't really want to invade Vhetin's privacy, but her curiosity would never let her rest until she knew. Mysteries had always irritated her, even from a young age. Mysterious _people_ were just agonizing.

She keyed open the door to the captain's quarters, which served as Vhetin's personal room, glanced up and down the hall once more, then quickly ducked inside.

The door slid shut behind her, throwing the room into darkness. She didn't risk switching on the power; that would probably register on the energy readout panel in the cockpit. Instead, she pulled a tiny glowrod from her belt and clicked it on.

The room she saw within was much like she remembered from when she'd spied on Vhetin and Rame that first day aboard. A single-sized, neatly-made cot was anchored into the bulkhead to her left, near a durasteel desk that was secured to the wall. A small piece of twisted, burned shrapnel was resting on the cot. Jay passed by it without giving it much more than a cursory glance; it was probably just trash anyway.

The desk was covered in flimsiplast documents, glowing a dull green in the darkness. She approached the desk and picked one of the sheets up, reading careful in the light of her glowrod:

_Bounty: Open_

_ Name: Karman Talenak_

_ Species: Nikto_

_ Sex: Male_

_ Last known location: Anchorhead City, Tatooine_

_ Bounty Originator: Fai'talen Association_

_ Appearance: Typical Nikto with several cranial horns severed and a single missing eye. Usually wears black nerf hide clothing, which should make him stand out on Tatooine. Subject is to be treated as armed and dangerous._

_ Brief: Subject jumped on his weekly bail payment. If not for us, he'd still be rotting in jail. Bring him back so we can send him back to prison and get our credits back._

_ Reward: 5,000 (alive) – 1,000 (dead)_

She set down the flimsi and picked up another, seeing another bounty information column. She set that one down as well and rooted around the desk a little more. There was a small holo of Brianna, a repair kit for Vhetin's rocket pack, and a software upgrade component that Jay assumed was for his helmet's HUD; nothing that offered a hint of his true identity.

She carefully replaced everything exactly as she'd found it. Vhetin was very observant, and would probably notice if anything was out of place.

_You're nothing but a sneak_, her conscience whispered. _Vhetin shouldn't trust you at all. What in the hell are you _thinking_?_

She grimaced again. She didn't enjoy prying into her friend's personal belongings, but she _had_ to know more about him.

She moved to the closet on the other side of the cot and pulled open the door. The space within contained three large gray lockers that stretched almost from floor to ceiling; almost like the uniform lockers Jay had used back in the Imperial Navy. Each locker had a transparisteel cover that revealed its contents. Two of the lockers contained sets of armor identical to the suit that Vhetin was currently wearing. The third was empty, probably because Vhetin was wearing that set.

It was mildly disturbing. All she'd ever known of Vhetin was his armor, and now it was almost as if these were lockers containing replicas of Vhetin himself. He'd poured himself into his armor until his identity and his armor were one and the same.

Maybe that was why she couldn't find anything about his identity; maybe it was because he had no identity outside the business of bounty hunting. It was a possibility.

Unlike the doors outside, these lockers were code-locked, and code-locked well. Jay couldn't even begin to try and decipher the strange letters on the keypads, and she doubted anyone else would be able to either. It didn't come as a surprise; Vhetin obviously found his armor very important.

She didn't particularly want to find out what happened should one get the code wrong, so she didn't risk touching the glowing control monitors.

She closed the closet doors and backed up, surveying the room. The walls revealed nothing overly special, just a holo monitor that currently showed a stylized helmet symbol, rotating slowly. Jay paused and studied it closer, remembering seeing the same symbol in miniature form in the corner of Vhetin's right chestplate. It was a foreshortened helmet insignia, coming to a sharp point along the bottom and split down the center. She didn't have the slightest clue what the symbol was or what it meant, but it seemed to have some importance to Vhetin. That was interesting, but not exactly enlightening.

She moved to a shelf along a wall and studied its contents. All that was on the shelf was a small brown book, well-worn and obviously used often at one point. Not now, though; now it was covered in dust and the cover was falling off. She pulled the book down and leafed through the pages.

It appeared to be an old-fashioned handwritten journal of some kind. She opened to a random page and read the date. It was dated about seven years old.

Vhetin would have been around fifteen at the time, she realized with a bit of surprise. Somehow, applying an age to the faceless mercenary seemed impossible. She'd asked him about it once and he'd said that he was about her age, but she'd never been able to wrap her head around that. Imagining him as a teenager was even harder.

She shook her head, told herself to stay focused, and began reading the entry.

_Rame put me to work in the fields today. I'm grateful that he's helping me to get out of the house, helping me to start working and stop living off Brianna's and Mia's time and kindness._

_ I didn't particularly enjoy the machinery he used, but it was faster than ploughing the acres of fields with a spade, so I used them anyway. I don't know why, but I still get very nervous around machines of any kind. Rame says that it isn't surprising, considering what I went through. I wish I could understand what he means by that, but he still won't tell me. He says he'll explain when I'm ready. I guess there's nothing to do but wait. _

_ My _Mando'a_ lessons are coming along well, even though the language is tough to understand. Mia told me that most people pick up the local variation of the language by learning the most frequently used terms first — greetings and curses, mostly — before moving on the rest. I mispronounced a word the other day and accidentally called Mia an overweight porpoise in Rodese. Mia said it was a tremendous improvement that my mispronunciations are now crossing dialects. Brianna was laughing too hard to say anything._

_ Brianna... Brianna confuses me. I enjoy her company, and she seems to genuinely enjoy mine, but at the same time... I don't know, it almost seems like she's struggling with how much to tell me. Like she's fighting with herself on whether or not to be truthful about what really happened to me._

_ Every time I try and ask about it, everyone gets very edgy and nervous. Was it something bad? Was it something I did?_

_ I guess I'll find out in time. But I'm not sure I'll like it when I do._

Jay frowned thoughtfully and flipped forward a few more pages. This entry was dated a year later.

_I've finally decided on my armor's color scheme; I'm going with black. Black symbolizes justice on in Mandalorian culture, and that's something I feel very strongly about._

_ Maybe it's because what happened to me was so _un_just. But then again, I don't know that. Maybe I _did_ deserve it. There's still so much I don't know right now, it threatens to smother out the few facts that I do know._

_ Anyway, I'm still not sure about my secondary armor color. I think I'm going to go with gray, just because that'll blend well with the black._

_ Now that I'm technically a full-fledged warrior, I can finally move away from the farm and head up to the bastion in the mountains. Rame keeps teasing me that I'm just trying to get away from him and Mia, but it's really just because I don't want to be a burden any longer._

_ Brianna says she's still considering my offer for her to com and live with me, but I think she's going to say no. I think she could see how uncomfortable I was when I made the offer. How nervous I was._

_ I don't really know how to deal with this new relationship we have. No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to return Brianna's feelings, and the harder I try to really to care for her, the less successful I am. _

_ I've tried to research it, to see if it's a documented phenomenon, and found information about something called 'Social Detachment Disorder.' Apparently this disorder usually manifests itself in terminally ill patients, when they believe they have nothing left to live for. They distance themselves from everyone around them, becoming cold and detached, unwilling or unable to make bonds with people. It also said that this disorder is a possible cause of sociopathy. Not very good news._

_ Maybe it will get better with time. For now, I think it's best if Brianna and I just give each other some space._

_ Through all this, Jaing's been spewing stupid jokes almost as fast as his mouth can move. I don't think he knows he's just making things worse, but I think I'm going to have to shoot him before this is done._

Jay flipped further into the book, feeling more and more guilty for prying into her partner's personal life. _But_, she thought again, _I have to know, and there's no other way to get it done._

This entry was dated about a year and a half before he had rescued her from prison. As she read, she was surprised by a sudden shift in personality she recognized. Before, Vhetin's writings had been very open and detailed in an almost confused way. Now the journal was sharp, to the point, and all business.

_I was ordered to put down a rebellion on Eminor today. When I received the orders I was surprised, but only at first. Eminor, a mid-rim world that specializes in exotic herbal extracts used in medicinal fields, had been growing more and more withdrawn and despotic for years. There wasn't much else that could have happened._

_ Seven months ago, a small force of Eminorians rose up against the planetary government, infiltrating the capital and managing to smuggle out several shipments of military-grade weapons. This group, under the name of the Alliance of Eminor, are engaging in guerilla warfare on the planet's surface._

_ Two weeks ago, a platoon of stormtroopers was mobilized and sent to the planet's surface to-_

_ Stormtroopers?_ Jay thought, frowning as she looked up from the journal. _What's Vhetin doing working for a company that employs stormtroopers?_

She shrugged and continued reading. Maybe he'd explain later in the entry.

_-to quell this rebellion. Contact with them was lost soon after they landed. It seems the rebel Eminorians have adapted to life in the jungle, and the stormtroopers weren't prepared for whatever they found down there._

_ A scouting team from the capital found the troopers dead a few weeks later, victims of special poison darts the rebels were fond of using. The scouting team soon after came under attack, and managed to retreat to the capital while sustaining heavy casualties. Things were spiraling out of control._

_ So, naturally, they turned to me._

_ Right now, I'm en route to Eminor, and I'm not sure what kind of reception I'll receive when I get there. I do know that it doesn't matter how the locals treat me; my first priority is to get the job done. Lord Vader will not accept failur-_

Jay almost dropped the journal in surprise. She stopped and reread the sentence three more times before she was satisfied her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

_ Lord Vader will not accept failure._

_ Lord _Vader.

Vhetin used to work for Darth Vader? And only a year and a half before he'd rescued her?

She suddenly didn't feel safe onboard _Void_. What if Vhetin still had ties to the Empire? What if he was still working for the people who had branded her a traitor and ruined her life?

_Whoa, whoa, whoa, _she thought, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

_Get a hold of yourself, girl_, she thought. _I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for this. Vhetin destroyed an entire Imperial prison and kidnapped an Imperial General the very first day you met him. There's no way he's still working for the Empire._

One thing was for sure, however: he had a lot of explaining to do.

She sighed nervously. But before his explanation even began, _she_ had a lot of explaining to do first.

* * *

><p><strong>Kash's hideout, Imperial City (formerly Coruscant)<strong>

Kassh sat bolt-upright in his seat and cried, "What?"

Durge fixed him with a blank stare. After a moment, he folded his massive arms across his chest, expecting Kassh to explain himself.

"Vhetin went to _Sekha_?"

"That is what my sources tell me. His ship was docked at Bloody Dawn headquarters for about an hour. Why is that a problem?"

Kassh stared at his clenched fists and saw that they were trembling slightly. "Sekha... I _trusted_ her!"

"How much does she know of our organization?" the Gen'dai growled, sounding like he already knew the answer.

"E-everything!" Kassh said, shaking his head. "She was the one who sold us this very _base_!"

This was one contingency he had _not_ prepared for. Sekha... betray him? It didn't seem possible. She had helped him every step of the way as he'd built up his own criminal organization.

But then again he'd betrayed her first, when he'd moved in on her territories. Sekha was cunning and merciless, and Kassh should have known she would not tolerate betrayal.

"Did she _tell _him anything?"

Durge paused for a moment, probably reviewing his earlier conversation with his contact. After a time, he thundered, "Uncertain. Uitani was only their guide to Sekha's sanctum; he was ordered to leave as soon as he brought them to her. He viewed them leaving through the guard post later, but was unable to tell where they were headed next. My other contacts state that _Void_ left dock at the Sector-Gee-Eight-Seven Spaceport almost two day sago and left the system. I do not know their final destination."

Kassh took a deep breath. "If Sekha had given away my position... he'd already be on my doorstep."

"Unless he is using a mode of transport other than his ship," Durge pointed out.

Kassh shot him a glare, but considered that possibility. As a bounty hunter himself, Durge's mind worked in much the same way as Vhetin's. It was indeed a possibility.

Durge grunted and said, "How does this change your plans? You said he would find us in time, and it seems he has."

"Yes..." Kassh said quietly. "Yes."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then turned to his enforcer.

"Durge," he said. "I want you to stay here and make sure Vhetin dies. Stay here, then wait for him to find you. I will deal with his partner."

The Gen'dai bowed, then said, "And where will you be?"

"Sekha's treachery has caused me to change my plans. I will travel to my base on Tatooine. It's remote enough that Vhetin won't think to look there."

He turned away and left the room, calling over his shoulder, "Make sure Vhetin dies. Or I'll make your life so painful you'll beg me to fly you into another sun."

* * *

><p>With a deep rumble of engine wash, <em>Void<em> settled down onto a floating landing pad that was suspended by repulsor engines several thousand feet above the ground. Skyscraper towers stretched thousands more feet above the platform, and ships and speeders of every make and model darted through the congested skylanes.

Coruscant; political center of the universe, home to billions of beings, spatial coordinates 0-0-0.

That was what the nav computer said as Vhetin keyed through the info page. A small smile played across his lips as he thought, _What they leave out is all the _important_ information. Like the fact that Triple Zero's also home to Bloody Dawn headquarters, Black Sun supply depots, Jabba the Hutt's spice cartels, as well as Midnight Ultraviolet's base of operations._

He looked out the front viewport and narrowed his eyes at the sprawling cityscape that stretched past the horizon.

_Kassh is out there somewhere_, he thought. _ As well as the woman who sent us that message. They both think that I'm not enough of a threat to deal with... I'm going to show them just how wrong they are._

The door to the cockpit hissed open and Jay stuck her head through.

"Hey," she said. "Tal Wam's almost ready to jump ship."

He blinked, shook his head, then replied, "All right. I'll be right there."

He took one last look out the viewport, thinking, _This very well be the biggest hunt in my career yet. And I don't even know half of what the hell is going on._

He sighed, then stood from the pilot's seat and followed Jay out onto the landing pad.

Tal Wam was staring around with his large red eyes, clutching at the collapsible stun prod that he had refused to set down since Rhen Var.

Jay was already talking to him, saying, "Are you sure you'll be all right on your own?"

The Duros nodded quickly. "Yep yep. I know way around Coruscant. Know my way around-"

She held up a hand, smiling and saying, "That's all right. I know what you're trying to say."

Vhetin stepped forward, folding his arms across his chest. Tal Wam stared back at him, saying, "You... you want weapon back? Back weapon want you?"

He held out the stun prod, but Vhetin shook his head.

"Keep it. It's brought you more luck than it ever brought me."

He put a hand on Wam's shoulder and said, "Thanks for your help. We couldn't have made it away from Rhen Var without you."

"My-my was a _prisoner_ half the time!" he cried. "Prisoner I was a half time the my!"

"Is it just me," Jay murmured, almost too quiet to hear, "or did his speech problem just get worse over time?"

Tal Wam stared at her for a moment, then said, "T-thank you. You thank. Life is become very interesting since meeting you. Interesting life become meeting very-"

"Why don't you just get on that speeder bus," Vhetin said, nodding toward the vehicle parked on the other end of the landing pad, "and see how much more interesting life gets?"

The Duros nodded slowly. "Yep yep. Yep yep."

He scurried toward the speeder bus, muttering to himself the whole way. As the bus rumbled into the air and began its flight away, Jay leaned closer and muttered, "That was the weirdest Duros I've ever met."

Vhetin smiled and replied, "You just wait. You're going to meet some even weirder people before your career is over."

As they walked back to the ship, Jay asked, "Was that true? About how we wouldn't have made it through Rhen Var without him?"

"Everyone pulls their own weight in a bad situation," he replied, "whether they know it or not. Tal Wam guarded the prisoners and helped me when I had hypothermia, not to mention provided us with a way to Pollamo and Kokr. He may have been annoying as hell, but he was helpful."

Jay glanced over her shoulder at the speeder bus. "As much as I hate to say it, I hope he stays safe."

"He's out of our hands," Vhetin said. "We need to stay focused on our own objective."

"And you still think Sekha's going to part with her information?"

"Only one way to find out," Vhetin said, striding up the entrance ramp into his ship.

* * *

><p>"<em>Marvelous!" <em>Sekha cried delightedly, clapping her hands together. She moved forward, circling the two bounties like a gurr-cat circling its prey. "Just _marvelous_!"

She stepped up to Vhetin and threw her arms around his shoulders. "Oh, I've been waiting for this for _ages_ now! You really are the best bounty hunter in the galaxy."

Vhetin respectfully pushed her back and said, "Keep your flattery for someone who'll fall for it, Sekha. I'd prefer the cash and the information."

"Of course, of course," she said, still staring at Pollamo and Kokr with gleaming eyes. "Uitani's replacement will deal with the money transaction."

The Twi'lek swaggered up to Kokr and brushed a long finger down the side of his craggy, dirty face. The human scowled and pulled his face, spitting at Sekha's feet. If the crime lord took any notice of it, she didn't show it.

"And to think," she whispered, "that Uitani was really one of your many moles in my organization... I am truly shocked."

Pollamo was shivering so hard it made his proboscis flap back and forth. "W-what are you going to do with us?"

Sekha grinned mischievously and quirked his eyebrows up. "Oh, let's not talk about that right now. Business before pleasure, and all that."

Something told Jay that the next few hours were going to be a lot more pleasurable for Sekha than for Pollamo and Kokr. The large red-carpeted room suddenly felt as if it were already spattered with blood. But she kept her mouth shut for now, waiting for Vhetin to authorize the credit transaction.

While she'd been on Mandalore, Vhetin and Jaing Skirata had hacked into the galactic banking network and worked up a hidden credit account for her. No one but Jay knew the special code to access it, and only she, Vhetin, and Jaing even knew of its existence. If everything went according to plan, half of the money for the bounty would go to Vhetin, half would go to her.

Vhetin nodded to the Twi'lek who had replaced Uitani as Sekha's head majordomo — what had happened to Uitani, Jay couldn't even begin to guess — and typed in his credit account's primary transaction number. He tapped in a few more commands to hide the transaction's path, then nodded again and handed the datapad to Jay.

Jay tapped in the ten-digit transaction code for her account, then watched as the credit balance climbed from almost zero to a little over three and a half thousand credits. A warm feeling of satisfaction washed over her; she had done her part, had gotten paid, and now her part in this little escapade was done. There was a nice sense of closure in that.

She handed the datapad back to Sekha's majordomo, then folded her arms and turned her attention back to the conversation at hand.

"-he money was only half the deal," Vhetin was saying, his hands on his hips. "You still haven't fulfilled your half of the bargain."

Sekha reluctantly nodded and motioned for her servants to take Pollamo and Kokr away.

"No!" Kokr roared as he was dragged out of the room. He struggled against servants who were pulling away, but was unsuccessful. He was bound at the wrists and ankles with stun cuffs, after all. "No, damn it! I'll get you for this, Vhetin! I _promise you_! _I'll make you pay_!"

Vhetin responded by giving the bearded human a lazy salute.

As soon as the bounties were gone, Sekha leaned back against her couch and sighed. "All right then. It's time for me to keep my end of the deal."

Vhetin nodded his helmeted head slowly. "Good."

"Not that I'm an _expert_ on the subject," she said slowly, "but Kassh is holed up in an old abandoned oxygen-pumping station twenty-point-three-eight kilometers southeast of the atmospheric enhancement sector of the Underworld. The facility has twin three-hundred-sixty-degree anti-personnel security turrets, kath hound pens that can be opened at the push of a button, floodlight towers, and automated perimeter defenses designed by Aratech Security Systems. You shouldn't find them too hard to get past."

"What about manpower?" Vhetin asked, tipping his head slightly to one side.

"Again, not that I'd really know anything about this, but he has fifteen hired thugs at the base, and another ten on patrols that go out every ten minutes. Shift changes are ever six hours, and that's usually when the defenses are powered down so everyone off-duty can go home. Apart from that he has his maniac brother, Killk, a couple ex-special forces thugs as bodyguards, and this huge Gen'dai enforcer that follows him around everywhere."

_Gen'dai_? Jay had never heard of Gen'dai before. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like good news.

Vhetin seemed to ponder over this for a time, then asked, "And you have all this on good authority?"

Sekha shrugged. "If I can trust my own spies. But after dealing with the bearded wonder back there, I doubt I can do that any more."

Vhetin nodded slowly, running a hand along the smooth dome of his helmet. He seemed to think it over, then looked up at Sekha and said, "If your spies are wrong, you can expect me to be back here very soon. And I won't be as friendly as I have in the past."

Sekha grinned and tossed one of her lekku over her shoulder playfully. "I look forward to it. You're so very attractive when you're angry."

Vhetin shook his head slightly and turned away. "Let's go," he said. "I think we've spent enough time here."

Sekha waved to them as they left, a knowing smile stretching across her beautiful face. "Good-bye," she called. "And stop in again soon, will you?"

_Yeah_, Jay thought. _When Mustafar freezes over._

Then the huge reinforced door slammed shut once more, and the crime lord was cut off from them.

"So..." she said slowly, "what now?"

"What else?" Vhetin replied. "we're going to follow up on the leads we have. Sekha's spies gave her detailed intel about Kassh's hidden base."

"Yeah, but it also sounds like there are pretty formidable defenses. Patrols, turrets, kriffing _Kath _hounds. I hope you have a plan."

"Not as of yet," he said. "I'm kind of flying by the seat of my kama right now."

They passed into the huge atrium, where they retrieved their weapons and headed for the door. As they passed by the huge indoor park, Jay said, "Maybe Tarron will be able to tell us more."

"That's what I'm hoping," he said. "And we need to see whether he has any new information on our mysterious competitor."

"Do you think Tarron found anything?"

Vhetin chuckled quietly as they passed by the indoor park. "Are you kidding? The man's a wizard with digging up dirt. My guess is he's got the woman's name, ship transponder, military service record, the address of her summer home, and the name of her pet gizka."

"Really?" Jay said slowly, raising a skeptical eyebrow.. "Then let's go see what he's found."

As they walked, she added, "Ten credits says he hasn't been able to find anything."

"Twenty says otherwise," he replied without missing a beat.

* * *

><p>"Well," Tarron said slowly, his voice crackling over the speakers of the comm system, "I don't have much more information for you. "<p>

"Ha!" Jay said quietly, clapping her hands. "I win ten credits."

She turned to Vhetin and held out an open palm. "Hand over the spoils, big guy."

"And the little info I do have..." Tarron continued, "well, you aren't going to like it."

"Oh kark it all," she muttered, her face falling.

"Spit it out, then," Vhetin said, sliding into his seat. "We're running out of time."

They were sitting at the duraplast table in _Void_'s small mess hall. Tarron had answered the comm after a single hailing tone; proof of how alert he was. Vhetin admired the man's devotion to his allies.

"I agree with Vhetin," Jay said. "We need this information fast."

"Okay," Tarron sighed. "Transmitting the data now."

As the comm hummed, signaling a long-distance data download, Tarron explained, "I fed the recording you sent me through a couple vocal analysis programs yesterday. It took forever to get a positive match, but..."

"You found something?" Jay guessed.

"Take a look."

With a pop and an electronic sizzle, a shimmering blue-white hologram sputtered to life from the holotransmitter mounted on the side of the comm system. It displayed the rotating image of a woman dressed in simple black combat armor, the likes of which Vhetin had never seen. Accompanying the holo were what looked like Imperial identification records. Whoever this woman was, she'd obviously run afoul of the Empire at some point over the course of her career.

The woman was tall and lean, with her hair shaved so close to her head that nothing but dark stubble remained. She seemed to be in her early or mid-thirties, though many different humanoid species aged at different speeds. Vhetin didn't see anything overly threatening about the woman, but knew from experience never to underestimate one's opponents. She had already proved herself to be resourceful and knowledgeable about her competition.

"You're looking at the Imperial ID record for one Kalyn Farnmir. Human female, age thirty-three."

"Criminal record?" Vhetin inquired.

"Apparently she was caught and arrested during an Imperial raid on one of Kassh's bases a few years ago. She used to be a pretty frequent employee of Midnight Ultraviolet's upper echelon. It didn't stop Kassh from selling her out to save his own skin, though."

"So she's obviously no friend of Kassh's," Jay said, glancing at Vhetin. "That would explain why she wants to get at him first."

"She was released from Imperial custody two months ago on probationary status," Tarron continued, "and she disappeared almost as soon as she cleared the bars of the prison. There's a warrant out for her capture and arrest; ten thousand credit's reward if you're interested."

"I don't think so," Vhetin said. "I haven't stooped low enough to turning in fellow hunters just yet."

He leaned back in his seat and frowned thoughtfully, folding his arms across his chest. "Kalyn Farnmir... the name does sound vaguely familiar."

"She used to be a big name towards the beginning of the Clone Wars, but she had some nasty business that set her back a couple steps. All I could dig up was that her partner sold her out, tried to whack her, and failed."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jay said, holding up her hands and frowning. "Did you say at the end of the _Clone Wars_?"

"Interesting, huh? Medical reports say that biologically she's thirty-three. But if her birthdate is accurate, she would be in her forties or fifties by now. I'm still trying to figure that one out. My best guess is carbonite."

"What happened during the Clone Wars that she lost her edge?"

"Don't know. The last bounty she brought in was a Gammorean named Olp Takn a few months after the Battle of Geonosis. After that... nothing. She disappears from the galactic scene until her business with Kassh."

Jay frowned and shook her head in confusion. "People don't just disappear. She had to be somewhere."

"_Ba'slan shev'la_," Vhetin muttered. "Strategic disappearance. Something caused her to lay low for almost twenty years."

He grunted and said, "I can see why she'd want to get to Kassh first. And why she'd go to such great lengths to scare us off this mission. It's not just a job for her; it's personal."

Jay sighed and shook her head. "And she's just the beginning of our competition. Tarron, how long do you think we have before this Kalyn Farnmir gets to Kassh?"

There was a long pause over the comm, then he said, "There's every possibility she's at kassh's base right now. She probably thinks you two are out of the game, so she's moving in for the kill."

Vhetin cursed and pushed away from the table. "Not if I can help it," he muttered, heading straight for the cockpit.

Jay followed him, hastily grabbing the comlink before heading for the cockpit as well. As Vhetin strapped into the pilot's seat, she thanked Tarron for his information and signed off the comm. She took her place in the copilot's seat and said, "Okay, so we know who our competition is. What now?"

"Simple," Vhetin growled. "We get to Kassh's base before Kalyn Farnmir does. We capture him before she does. And we turn him in before she has a chance to catch up to us."

"And if she tries to steal Kassh from us?" Jay asked.

She probably already knew the answer, but Vhetin answered her anyway. He scowled deeper beneath his helmet and said, "Then we force her to back down. By any means necessary."

Jay sighed. "I thought you'd say that."

* * *

><p>As <em>Void <em>blasted through Coruscant's Atmospheric Enhancement Sector, Vhetin scowled and cracked the knuckles of his left hand by slowly making a tight fist.

So this Kalyn Farnmir woman thought she had warded him off with a simple threat message, did she? That wasn't just an underestimation of his resolve... it was downright _insulting_. He was not the kind who would run because of a simple threat against his life.

As _Void _swooped between two towering oxygen-production towers, he took the ship off self-pilot and manually guided her down towards the coordinates Sekha had given them. He saw a facility of some kind, shrouded in the shadow and smog of the oxygen towers. It was hard to tell from here, but Kassh's 'compound' looked like nothing more than an old collection of office buildings surrounded by a high chain-link fence.

That was their best bet. And it was exactly twenty-point-three-eight kilometers southeast of the Atmospheric Enhancement Sector's center, just as Sekha had said.

_Her spies are better than I gave them credit for, _thought to himself with a satisfied nod. _They're certainly better informed than the last time I worked with her._

He set the ship down on a landing pad a few hundred meters from the complex, outside the range of the security turrets Sekha had warned them about. He locked the ship's systems so no unwanted stowaways could access _Void_'s database or command console, then left the cockpit.

He found Jay in the armory; a small room off the main corridor that contained every weapon he could fit onboard. There were rifles and pistols, grenades and rocket launchers along one wall. Along the other were vibroswords, lightsabers, and an old bow and arrow set that he used from time to time.

Jay was staring at the wall of rifles, obviously unused to such weapons. When Vhetin walked in, she turned and said, "This is an impressive room of death machines."

"It works for me," he replied, grabbing his saber-staff from a set of hooks on one wall. Jay leaned back against the wall, folding her arms as he said, "I set the ship down a few hundred meters north of Kassh's base. If we run into any advance teams, I want to have the ship nearby."

"And if Kalyn Farnmir has already been here?"

"I don't know if she has," he replied, hooking his staff against the specially adapted clips on his rocket pack. "But you might want to take this-"

He tossed her a short-stocked DC-16 battle rifle, of the kind used by black-ops Imperial Commandos. She caught it clumsily and looked up at him with surprise.

"-just in case," he finished. He grabbed a rifle of his own and immediately checked the sight calibration, staring down the holographic sights and syncing them up to his HUD systems. "Ammo's in the crate in the corner."

He snapped back the charging rod with the flat of his palm, hearing a satisfying whine as the tibanna gas within the rifle built up to assist in the creation of a lethal blaster bolt.

If Kalyn Farnmir had already been here, it wouldn't be a problem. She wouldn't be able to keep Kassh for long.

_After all_, he thought, _I'm a bounty hunter. Hunting people down is what I do._

Then he turned and left the room without another word.

A few minutes later, and they were both carefully creeping down _Void_'s exit ramp into the darkness of the Underworld streets surrounding Kassh's base. Vhetin took point, keeping his rifle leveled at the area ahead. He tightened his rifle's position against his shoulder, seeing a circular targeting reticle appear in the center of his HUD. With a slow, careful motion, he clicked the safety off and stepped onto the street below, scanning his surroundings for the slightest sign of movement. Besides a single torn sheet of fabric that draped from a nearby window that fluttered in the slight breeze, there was nothing.

Jay stepped off the ramp behind him, looking nervous. Vhetin couldn't blame her. The sight before them wasn't pretty; a deserted street that stretched off into the darkness ahead of them, waste littering every corner, dangling wires throwing sparks onto the duracrete below in sporadic showers of light. A hawkbat let out a long screech in the distance, making them both jump slightly.

Vhetin squinted to see through the smoky darkness, then activated the light mounted to the end of his DC-16. It helped slightly and the street ahead became noticeably clearer as Jay followed suit. They slowly made their way down the deserted alley, covering all possible ambush sites. He was very aware of the sound of his own heavy bootfalls on the duracrete beneath his feet.

Jay let out a nervous breath and looked around, shaking a strand of hair from her eyes.

"It's so _quiet_," she whispered.

Vhetin narrowed his eyes and sighted down his rifle, paying careful attention on putting one boot down in front of the other as carefully and as quietly as possible. "That's not right. This close to the Atmospheric Enhancement Sector? This place should be deafening us."

Jay shook her head and tightened her grip on her short-stocked rifle. "Never mind that. Sekha said Kassh had personal security patrols. Where are they?"

Vhetin straightened, a thought coming to him. He leveled his rifle at a nearby wall and squeezed the trigger. The staccato rap of the DC exploded through the silence, making Jay shout with surprise and jump back. The noise echoed through the darkness before fading back into silence.

"What the _hell _are you doing?" Jay whispered furiously, crouching close to a building's wall for cover and glancing around them for signs of approaching guards.

He held up a hand and cocked his head to one side, increasing his helmet's audio receptors to maximum efficiency. They picked up the breeze whistling through broken windows, the compound's fence creaking quietly, but... no sounds of life.

"I think we're alone," he said.

"Are you kidding?" Jay replied. "What about all of Kassh's guards? What about the Kath hounds?"

"What about them?" Vhetin replied, gesturing around them. "Where are they?"

Jay opened her mouth to shoot back a reply, then promptly closed it again. She frowned and looked around.

There was nothing but silent darkness around them. No shouting guards, no footsteps approaching their position, no baying of Kath hounds.

After a moment, she turned back to him and shook her head. "This just keeps getting better and better."

"I think Farnmir beat us here," Vhetin said as he began walking once more.

A few meters along the street and they came across a splash of purple-blue blood along one wall. Vhetin stopped and touched it gently, rubbing it between his gloved fingers. His HUD's analysis program showed it was Duros blood. Where the Duros was, Vhetin could only guess. There was no sign of the alien or whatever had killed it.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Jay murmured.

He nodded. "Me too. But don't let it distract you; we still have a job to do here."

Jay scoffed. "That's easier said than done."

"Let's just see if we can find the entrance to the facility. Keep on your toes, okay?"

Jay cast a last nervous glance at the blood splattered across the wall, then nodded and followed him.

After a few more minutes of cautious searching, they came upon a meters-high fence with large signs that read in Basic: _Beware! High Voltage!_

Vhetin looked up and down the perimeter fence and saw evidence to the contrary; there were large sections of the fence that had been crushed by a huge duracrete pillar, severed at its base by what looked like a large-bore blaster bolt. If there was a charge running through it, the fence would be sparking. But all he saw were dull gray chain-link wires twisted around a cracked duracrete column.

Using age-old hand signals, Vhetin told Jay to move up towards the column; that was their way in. She nodded and took point, moving up to the pillar in a crouched run. Vhetin had to crack the slightest of smiles at that. She still hadn't mastered it yet, forgetting to keep her knees bent while running. Consequently, she just moved along while bent at the waist instead of the usual cautious, crouched run.

She carefully clambered up onto the top of the fallen pillar, careful not to catch her foot in the cracks that had torn the duracrete apart. She scanned the area with her rifle, then signaled back that all was clear. He moved forward, cautiously hopping up onto the top of the pillar and moving in front of her.

As he passed through the fence, aware of Jay right beside him, he activated his HUD's video-capture unit that was mounted along the right side of his helmet. He'd want to keep the video of their explorations here for future reference.

There was a crash in the distance and Jay spun to watch their six. They were back-to-back now, each keeping their full attention on their own side of the pillar. Vhetin's motion tracker showed nothing, his light revealing nothing but more twisted fencing and broken duracrete chips.

"It looks like this pillar was pretty tall," Jay whispered to him. "I think it goes on for a while."

"Let's follow it," he replied. "It might take us right to Kassh's base. Keep an eye out for those turrets."

"_You _keep an eye out for the turrets," she shot back. "_I'm_ keeping an eye out for the damn Kath hounds."

Vhetin snorted, then moved forward on the pillar, easily keeping his balance as he moved a little faster. A few meters ahead, and the pillar broke up into chunks that he and Jay had to carefully hop across like stepping stones across a stream. Vhetin almost slipped on the last pillar chunk, his foot dislodging a shower of loose duracrete chips. The chips went skittering across the duracrete pad beneath the toppled column.

Jay winced next to him, obviously waiting for some ambush. She crouched lower and tensed, bracing herself against an inevitable volley of blaster bolts. But none came.

After a few seconds Jay opened one eye, looked around slowly, then straightened. "Uh... okay. I'm able to admit when I'm wrong. It looks like no one's home. I think someone beat us to it."

Vhetin narrowed his eyes and said, "Until we have proof, don't let your guard down."

"So what's the plan?"

He lowered his rifle as he let his motion tracker's field of vision sweep around the courtyard. The tracker picked up nothing, only an empty courtyard.

"We split up," he said. "I'll head to the right side of the compound, you take the right. Keep in constant contact and tell me if you find anything. Anything at all."

She nodded and double-checked her ammo clip, just as he taught her. She slapped her open palm against the ammo magazine and pulled the rifle more tightly against her shoulder.

Vhetin slowly stepped down off the pillar and made his way into the darkness. He switched his helmet's gamma filter to its highest setting. The area around him glowed a highly contrasted black and white. It was slightly confusing, but easier to see.

He paused near a power conduit tower; a rickety-looking amalgamation of conduits and durasteel girders. He looked up towards the power wires and saw that they were powered down, like the powerless electrified fence.

"Okay," he said into his helmet's comm. "Jay where are you?"

"I'm about thirty meters away from the pillar," she replied, her voice muffled slightly by the static of her comlink. "I'm near some kind of power supply tower. It's heavily damaged, probably from grenade fire. It looks like the entire area has no power."

"That takes care of the turrets, then," Vhetin said. "If there's no power..."

"So all we need to take care of is the armed guards, the armored patrols, and the freakin' Kath hounds."

"Not to mention the Gen'dai enforcer," he added.

There was a pause over the comm, then Jay hesitantly said, "Um... what exactly is a Gen'dai?"

"Oh..." Vhetin murmured, stepping around a fallen conduit cable, "they're usually big, bulky aliens with... uh, big, ropy purple muscles. Like if you stripped your skin off."

"And what's so terrifying about a guy with his skin stripped off?"

"Besides the fact that they're more than three meters tall, wear near-impenetrable body armor, and are nearly impossible to kill?"

"Oh."

Vhetin picked his way across a pile of rubble that had apparently flown loose from the toppled tower, keeping his gaze half on the area ahead of him and half on the tiny rectangular window along the top of his HUD that showed his helmet's 360-degree vision. "As far as I know," he continued slowly, "there's only one left alive; a bounty hunter named Durge."

"You're kidding," Jay said.

"No," he replied. "Why?"

"You've never heard of Durge?"

"I worked with him once. He's ruthless and bloodthirsty; not really my type. But apart from that, no," Vhetin said. This was a surprising change of pace; usually it was him providing Jay with information, not the other way around. "Do you know anything about him?"

"Please," Jay said. "You don't give me enough credit. You're looking at the girl who wanted to join the civilian recruit Republic Military Corps at age six. I was probably the most politically aware girl on Corellia during the Clone Wars. I learned everything about the Wars that I could."

"Hm. So what can you tell me about Durge?"

"Well, I know he worked for the Separatists during the Clone Wars. He tested a biological weapons on Ohma-D'un and massacred thousands of Gungan colonists. He was responsible for almost as many slaughters as General Grievous. I heard that General Skywalker and General Kenobi had flown him into a sun, though. Everyone assumed that he was dead after that."

"Well," Vhetin said, examining a thick sheet of durasteel with a meter-wide hole blasted through it, "either we have another Gen'dai on the loose here, or everyone assumed wrong."

"Creepy," Jay observed, then fell silent.

After a few more minutes of cautious observation, Vhetin activated his comm and said, "So what exactly is it with you and Kath hounds?"

"What?"

"You seem very nervous about the Kath hounds Kassh is supposed to have here. Why?"

"Oh..." she hesitated. "One of my neighbors had a Kath hound as a pet when I was a kid. It was constantly trying to jump into our yard and attack us. It eventually got so bad that we almost had to move. Our neighbor got rid of it after the monster attacked one of my brothers. He had to spend two weeks in the hospital."

"Oh." Vhetin knelt, running a hand along the smoothly melted edges of the durasteel sheet's blast hole. Durge's weapon of choice was a huge arm-mounted turbolaser. Interesting...

He stood and asked, "Was he all right?"

"More or less. One of his eyes never pointed the right direction again. But since then, I've been scared of Kath hounds ever -"

She broke off suddenly. For a moment, Vhetin thought their connection had been severed, but he could still hear a hint of audio backwash from her end of the comm.

"Jay?" he said, turning in her direction. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, uh..." she paused, then said, "I've got blood over here. And... uh, and a body."

"A body?" he echoed. "who is it?"

"Hard to, uh... hard to tell. Um... there isn't much left."

_What the hell does that mean?_ Vhetin thought, frowning. He shouldered his rifle and sprinted in Jay's direction. He leaped over the meter-and-a-half-tall fallen pillar in a single bound, landed hard, and kept running.

He skidded to a halt as Jay came into view. She was kneeling next to a pool of blood, which showed up black on Vhetin's highly contrasted HUD. She jumped as he knelt next to her, looking over at him with wide eyes. When she saw it was him, she relaxed and let out a long breath.

"I'm glad you're here," she whispered. She gestured to the pool of blood. "Uh... what do you make of this?"

Vhetin set his HUD's gamma filter back to normal and shone his rifle light on it.

The blood was orange.

He relaxed; that meant it wasn't Kassh. It was still disturbing, but not a major problem.

He turned back to Jay. "Where's the body?"

She shook her head, letting out a long breath. "If your stomach's feeling up to it, it's right over there."

She pointed to her right, deeper into the darkness. Vhetin frowned, got to his feet, and stepped in that direction.

"Just follow the blood," she added quietly.

Vhetin saw that there was indeed a sporadic trail of orange blood leading into the shadows. That meant that either the body had been dragged in that direction, or the dying being had crawled a fair distance before finally expiring.

As he got closer, however, he began to put more money on the former.

There _was_ no body, at least not to speak of; just a truncated waist and legs and a mess of gory entrails. The being, whatever it had been, had been wearing a greenish coverall, which had now been ripped to shreds. Vhetin knelt near it and saw they were slash marks, made by either a dull vibroblade or teeth.

"Hmm..."

He reactivated the comm channel to Jay and said, "Well, Jay, I have good news and bad news."

"Good news first."

"This isn't Kassh."

She hesitated, then called back, "What about the bad news?"

"It looks like your kath hounds are loose," he said.

"Son of a-"

A long howl echoed through the compound and Vhetin's gaze snapped up, his HUD instantly transferring into combat mode. The holographic display that stretched across the interior of his helmet lit up in reds and oranges as his HUD switched to thermal imaging. Nothing showed up on-screen, and his motion tracker showed nothing either.

Jay appeared out of the darkness behind him, her rifle held at the ready. Vhetin glanced at her and nodded encouragingly, getting to his feet and dropping into a combat-ready stance.

"Is it Kassh?" Jay asked, flexing her grip on her rifle.

There was a rumbling from further ahead in the darkness, then a bright neon-green turbolaser bolt exploded from the darkness before them.

"_Down_!" Vhetin yelled, tackling Jay from the side and driving them both out of the way of the laser bolt. The laser bolt impacted into a building behind them, fanning out into a bright green blob of light before exploding against the duracrete, melting a meter-wide hole in the building's wall.

"What in the hell-?" Jay began to say, raising her head and shaking hair out of her eyes. Another deep rumble began to build from the shadows ahead of them.

Vhetin scrambled to his feet, grabbing Jay's wrist and pulling her up with him. "We have to move!" he said.

Another bright green bolt shot through the darkness, missing them by only a meter.

"Run towards it!" Vhetin shouted as Jay pulled her wrist from his grasp.

"Are you crazy?" she shouted back, firing into the darkness, towards the source of the turbolaser bolts.

"We aren't going to hit it from all the way back here! We need to get closer!"

Jay cursed, then sprinted in the direction of the huge laser shots. Vhetin fired off a few bolts of his own as a distraction, running to the right to draw the fire away from Jay.

Still, it was a big gun. Vhetin had to somersault to one side to avoid another lethal laser bolt. It impacted against the ground behind him, sending molten duracrete pattering against his rocket pack and the back of his helmet. He winced as it began burning through his flight suit.

He ignored the burns and gritted his teeth, forcing himself to run faster. He pelted through the darkness and fog until another building came into view. Built low to the ground with a curved rooftop, the building looked identical to any other structure in the compound, save for a single thing.

A huge, hulking silhouette stood before the front entrance door. Easily three meters tall, the shadowy being was a hulking mass of armor plates, mechanical implants, and rock-hard muscle. A contoured durasteel helmet covered the being's head, not dissimilar to Darth Vader's death-head facemask.

The being stepped forward into the minimal amount of ambient light, revealing steel-gray armor painted with red and purple flashes. A rough purple mythosaur skull was painted across his contoured chest plate; ironic, considering this being's apparent hatred of Mandalorians.

Jay slowed and stopped next to Vhetin, rifle aimed squarely at Durge as the bounty hunter rumbled, "You're late. I was beginning to wonder whether you were going to find your way here at all."

The monstrous Gen'dai snapped the armored fingers of his right hand. On cue, the slinking forms of three Kath hounds crept out of the shadows and flanked either side of Durge. They snarled, saliva dribbling down out of their tooth-studded mouths, and tossed their horned heads.

"Oh good," Jay sighed. "He remembered the Kath hounds."

The creatures pawed at the ground, lashing their sinewy tails back and forth across the ground.

She let out a quiet breath. "So, uh... who gets who?"

"I'll take Durge," Vhetin murmured back. "You go for the hounds."

"Fine by me," Jay said, shifting her balance from foot to foot. "On three?"

Durge's mounted arm cannon began to rumble and glow green. He pulled back the massive charging rod with a tremendous _crack_ and began to raise it towards them. Vhetin tensed and said, "Ah... let's just run at them. _Now_!"

They both broke for their separate targets. Vhetin tossed aside his DC as he ran; it would be useless against Durge's thick body armor anyway. He grabbed his twin lightsabers from his belt, igniting them as he leaped into the air.

Durge somehow expected this, however, and grabbed Vhetin by the head, swinging him through the air and smashing him against the side of the building behind him. Vhetin grunted in pain as duracrete chips flew away from the building, splintered from their source by the force of his impact.

The Gen'dai then planted a huge armored boot in the small of his back and sent Vhetin flying through the air. He landed in a heap a few meters away, coughing and holding his chest.

He heard the pounding booms of Durge's huge bootsteps, swiftly coming closer. Again, Durge's iron-hard grip closed around the back of his helmet, and he gasped as the bounty hunter began to slowly squeeze. Durge lifted him up to face his ridged face mask and rumbled, "Far too easy. I was expecting more out of the infamous Cin Vhetin. This is _pathetic_!"

Vhetin grunted, swinging his legs up and pushing his boots against Durge's facemask. He kicked out, breaking free from Durge's grasp. The Gen'dai staggered back a few steps with a surprised grunt. Vhetin pulled two pistols from their holsters on his belt and let loose with a volley of blaster bolts as he flew back through the air. He ignited his jetpack in a sharp burst for an extended flight time. The snapping of his pistols echoed through the darkness, the flashes at the end of the barrels lighting the shadows around him, painting his armor with red highlights.

The blaster bolts pinged off Durge's body armor and ricocheted away, leaving nothing but small dents and scorch marks. The Gen'dai shrugged off the shots and stomped closer as Vhetin landed and rolled backward in a hasty reverse somersault. He tossed aside the pistols and scooped one of his fallen lightsabers from the ground, igniting it with a flourish.

Durge paused; even his super-durable body armor wouldn't stand up to the concentrated energy blade of a lightsaber. His huge blaster cannon slowly shifted and slid back into his arm with a mechanical hum. His hand appeared through the gap it left, folding out from his armored gauntlet.

Then he began to laugh; a raspy, menacing chuckle that echoed through the confines of his facemask. He flicked his wrists and clenched his massive hands into fists as a half-meter vibroblade sprang from one gauntlet, a spiked flail and chain from the other.

Durge raised both arms, activating the vibroblade and making the flail swing lazily. "You wish to play this game, Mandalorian? Then let us play."

With an otherworldly roar, Durge leaped forward, swinging his flail at Vhetin's head. Vhetin ducked under the weapon and slid his saber up, not even aiming for anything. After all, with a target as big as Durge, he was sure to hit _something_.

Sure enough, the saber severed Durge's vibroblade and sliced open his chestplate with a metallic shriek, melting a thin stripe of it away.

Durge took a step back, clapping a hand to his chest, across the red-hot slash in his armor. Slowly, he turned his facemask to the wound, Vhetin following his gaze.

Dark blue blood leaked from between Durge's armored fingers, dripping down the front of his durasteel chestplate. After a moment, a low, rumbling snarl built up from within his helmet and his eye sockets filled with a blood-red light. He looked up at Vhetin and rumbled, "You'll pay for that, buckethead."

Vhetin grinned beneath his helmet and motioned for Durge to bring it on. He swung his lightsaber through the air in anticipation as the huge bounty hunter planted his feet for a charge.

Before Vhetin could even move, Durge was right up in his face, swinging the flail at Vhetin's head and balling up a giant fists for a punch to the gut. Vhetin dodged the flail, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the blow to the stomach. He doubled over, all the air knocked out of his lungs as Durge swung the flail over his head, preparing for a killing stroke.

Vhetin gritted his teeth and rolled sideways, out of the flail's path. The spiked ball at the end of the chain embedded into the duracrete below them, making a small impact crater. Durge roared and yanked it up from the ground, stomping toward his prey once more. He screamed at Vhetin in a language he couldn't understand, his shielded eyes glowing red with fury.

Vhetin slashed upward with his saber and caught the Gen'dai in the chest again. If Durge felt the blow, he didn't show it. He just roared again and backhanded Vhetin across the helmet. The Mandalorian flew back again, crumpling into a ball as he landed.

He pushed himself to his hands and knees, squinting to see through the blood that had spattered across the inside of his helmet. Blood was pouring from his nose, dripping down into his neck sleeve.

_Time to change tactics_, he thought as he clambered to his feet once more. _This isn't working._

He crouched low and brushed his fingers across a keypad on his left gauntlet. A set of crosshairs inlaid themselves over his blood-smeared HUD and he centered them on Durge's massive chest before pressing a glowing blue button.

With a rushing explosion of exhaust, the missile mounted on his rocket pack blasted away from its housing and shot through the air toward his opponent. Durge saw it a moment too late, attempted to step out of the way, and caught the rocket square in the stomach.

The Gen'dai disappeared in an expanding cloud of flame and smoke, and the _boom_ of the explosion shook the courtyard, hard enough to knock Vhetin off his feet again.

He grunted as he landed on his back once more, thinking, _Fierfek, this is getting old._

He slowly crawled to his hands and knees, every muscle screaming in protest. His lungs still wouldn't quite draw in a full breath, and his head was pounding from Durge's iron-hard grip.

_Did I get the son of a bitch?_ he thought dazedly, ripping his blood-splattered helmet off his head and tossing it aside. _Is he finally dead?_

A low groan sounded from behind the cloud of smoke wafting from the missile's impact site, and Vhetin cursed.

Durge came charging out of the smoke, arm cannon extended and glowing a sickly yellow-green with overcharge on one arm, swinging his flail over his head with the other. His armor was warped, black, and twisted, but intact. Part of his face mask had been blown away, revealing mottled purple skin and gnashing teeth. His red eyes shone through the darkness as he stormed straight for Vhetin.

"What does it take to kill you?" Vhetin shouted at the Gen'dai, backpedaling frantically to avoid Durge's flailing fists.

"_I... am... INVINCIBLE!_" Durge screamed as he lashed out with the flail. Vhetin threw his momentum backwards and backflipped out of his opponent's reach, now driven completely into defensive tactics. Durge roared, spittle flying from the exposed portion of his mouth, and leveled his arm cannon.

Vhetin had enough time to see the targeting sight along the side of the weapon glow red before it fired. He cursed and rolled sideways, the turbolaser bolt missing him by centimeters.

He ignited his lightsaber as he came to his feet, darting forward and slicing down. The arm holding the spiked flail separated from Durge's body, hitting the ground with a thump. Vhetin grinned triumphantly under his helmet.

His triumph was short-lived. Pinkish-purple tendrils snaked from the cauterized stump of the arm, creeping through the red-hot armor like fast-growing roots. Before Vhetin's eyes, they solidified into rock-hard bicep, forearm, and fist. With a grunt, Durge backhanded Vhetin, hitting him across his unarmored face.

He flew head-over-heels, bouncing across the duracrete before bumping up against the base of a power conduit tower. He shook his head to clear his watery vision asDurge clenched his fist and moved forward, ready to press his advantage. Vhetin let his head hit against the durasteel pylons behind him, panting hard and holding his aching chest. Then an idea came to him.

He craned his neck and looked up at the tall power conduit tower, maybe fifteen meters tall. A thoughtful frown crossed his face, and he turned his gaze back to the shadow of the approaching Gen'dai, tightening his grip on his deactivated lightsaber.

_Hmm..._

* * *

><p>Jay screamed as the first Kath hound leaped at her, driving her down onto her back. She punched and kicked the snarling animal in every place she could think of, but couldn't get the thing off her.<p>

The hound — a huge canine beast with mottled black-green fur — snarled at her, blasting her face with hot, stinking breath. She punched it in the ribs to no apparent effect. It just barked angrily and dug its teeth into her arm. She managed to grab hold of its muzzle before it could bite down completely, and used it as a handhold to pull the beast off her. She yanked upward on the creature's snout with all her might and the hound leaped back with a pained yelp.

Before she could even roll onto her hands and knees, another of the three Kath hounds barreled into her side, knocking her off-balance once more. She dug her hands into the creature's beige-brown fur and tried to use it as a handhold to pull the thing off of her. It was no use; the hound was too heavy.

"Damn you!" she shouted, reaching frantically for her fallen rifle. The third of the Kath hounds snarled at her, baring its teeth and tossing its horned head as it crouched low over her weapon.

She punched the beige-brown hound in the ribs, hard enough to make it yelp in pain and hop off of her. She took advantage of the momentary pause, rolling sideways towards her blaster. She let out a shout of triumph as her hand wrapped around the rifle's contoured grip. The black-green Kath hound tried to leap at her extended arm, but she pulled back in time to avoid the creature's gnashing teeth.

She staggered to her feet and squeezed the trigger, unleashing a volley of bolts at the nearest hound. The brown-gray creature let out a pain-filled howl and loped off into the darkness, yelping the whole way.

The other two hounds stared after it a moment, then turned their yellow gazes back to Jay, as if weighing their chances of victory.

Jay would have to change her tactics; these were not just mindless, bloodthirsty beasts. These animals were obviously more intelligent than she previously thought.

The two remaining hounds began slowly fanning out, circling her in opposite directions. Her rifle snapped up, tracking the biggest one as it moved to her right. It crouched low to the ground and snarled slowly at her, baring its sharp fangs, letting out a low bark.

Jay reloaded her rifle and fired two warning shots. The creature dodged both of them and snarled at her again.

She heard the patter of paws on duracrete and spun, snapping her elbow out as she did. She caught the other Kath hound in the jaw with her elbow, sending it sprawling to the ground.

The other Kath hound saw it's opening;colossal weight slammed into Jay's back, driving her to her knees. She heard the snarling of the second Kath hound, felt its hot saliva dribble down her back, felt its claws cut through her cloth jacket like it was flittersilk.

She shouted in surprise and fell backwards, right on top of the creature. She heard a sharp, wet _snap. _The creature squealed in pain and scrambled away, yapping loudly. She craned her neck to see it quickly limping away on three legs; the fourth was bent at an unnatural angle, with a sharp sliver of bone protruding from its black-green fur.

She shook her head and rolled to onto her hands and knees, shaking hair out of her eyes.

Before she could even draw in breath, the last hound leaped forward, trying to take advantage of her momentary distraction. She raised the rifle and fired a single shot at it, a desperate gesture meant to distract it. It hit the creature in the leg and the hound stumbled. She raised the rifle again and shot the creature, once in the neck and once in the stomach. It twitched and died, falling onto its side with a grace belying its ferocity.

Jay shook her head to clear it, pressing a palm against a deep gash on her shoulder.

Her body was shivering from adrenaline, and every muscle seemed to be on fire. She had at least four bite wounds, two gashes on her left arm; other than that, she was fine. She took a deep breath and looked around.

An explosion split the silence, loud enough to force Jay to cover her ears.

_What... Vhetin!_ She thought, hoisting her rifle up again. _Where is he? And where's Durge?_

A huge neon green blaster roared through the darkness, impacting a building behind her. She ducked as the building exploded into chunks bigger than she was.

She pressed herself low to the ground as huge jagged hunks of building flew over her head.

_Oh_, she thought as she spotted a shadow sprinting through the shadows. _There he is_.

She pushed herself slowly to her hands and knees, scanning the darkness for the source of the deadly cannon bolt. With a gun like that, Durge would be able to vaporize her from a position well out of range of her DC.

A quiet _clang_ drew her attention. She turned her head and saw a dark, man-sized shadow scaling one of the power conduit towers a few meters from her.

Pulling himself hand-over-hand, Vhetin scaled the durasteel tower faster than Jay thought possible. He stopped twenty feet above the ground and hung there, igniting a single dark blue lightsaber. She saw with a small amount of surprise that his helmet was missing. The shadows and smog seemed to shroud his entire body, making it impossible to see anything other than a vague blur where his head should be.

Huge, booming footsteps rang through the quiet of the compound. Jay scrambled to her feet, crouching behind a large industrial barrel as Durge drew closer. A hulking form lumbered through the darkness only a meter from her barrel, a single massive arm cannon glowing bright green. A red targeting laser slowly swept the area, slicing through the shadows with a hum. The cannon moved slowly to track the laser's progress, and Jay pressed herself closer to the wall as the sight passed by her hiding place.

She saw Vhetin move to a more secure place on the conduit tower. His foot slipped, and his armored boot made a soft clashing sound against the durasteel beams near him. Durge's facemask snapped toward the sound, and he swiftly brought his cannon to bear.

_Oh no. I can't let Durge find him up there!_

Without even thinking, Jay leaped from cover, rolling and firing at the giant bounty hunter as she did. The Gen'dai roared as blaster bolts ricocheted off his back plate and turned to face her. She came up on her feet and kept running, firing as fast as her finger could smash the trigger. The blaster bolts just bounced off Durge's dirty gray-purple armor. She must have hit him fifteen times, but he just kept stomping toward her, oblivious to her efforts, not even flinching. His arm-mounted cannon let out a high-pitched whine as he brought it to bear on her.

Before she could move, Durge's cannon exploded in a fan of green and a bright green cannon bolt flashed toward her. She tried to somersault out of the way, but it was no use; the cannon was just too big. The ground exploded beneath her, sending molten duracrete splattering into the air and sending her sprawling. She screamed in pain as she landed in a heap, sliding a few feet before coming to a halt at the base of the conduit tower. She curled into a ball as a bolt of agony ripped through her. She looked up at the approaching Durge with watery eyes and gasping for air.

Durge lumbered directly beneath Vhetin's perch, towering over her and pressing the cannon against her forehead. As the cannon began to charge, glowing bright green, the bounty hunter released his grip, launching himself down at the Gen'dai. His lightsaber sliced through the darkness with a sharp synthetic hum. The blade smashed against Durge's neck armor and sliced down, making his armor glow red-hot.

Vhetin landed hard in a clatter of armor plates behind the massive Gen'dai, rolled, and came up in a combat-ready stance, his saber blade aimed directly at his opponent.

Durge stiffened and let out a gurgle as dark blue blood pooled on he duracrete below him, pouring down from his neck and chest. Waving purplish tendrils emerged from the saber wound, then his body separated into diagonally sliced halves that hit the ground with heavy _thuds_. His massive armored hands twitched twice, then fell still.

Vhetin approached slowly, nudging the larger piece of Durge's body with his boot. He then severed Durge's armored head with a single swift slash of his blade.

Jay was distantly shocked at the brutality of the action as Durge's head split from his trunk with a splash of the same dark blue blood and rolled away. Then she gasped in pain and curled into a tighter ball, wisps of smoke wafting up from her body.

The Mandalorian straightened, panting hard, and looked around the clearing. He saw Jay's limp form and sprinted forward, kneeling over her. He put a hand on her shoulder — a gentle motion that nonetheless sent agonizing fire through Jay's body — and said, "Jay... Are you all right?"

"D-do I l-look all right?" she stammered, her eyelids flickering. Her vision was wavering and watering so badly she could barely pick him out of the shadows around him. She couldn't even begin to make out his face.

He chuckled humorlessly as he pulled off her jacket, wrapping it around her like a blanket. He patted out the smoldering burns on her back and shoulders with surprisingly gentle hands and said, "Can you walk?"

"S-stop asking s-stupid questions."

"Okay," he said. "You can't walk. We still need to get out of here. It's obvious Kassh isn't here, the CSF is probably on its way, and Muscles back there isn't going to stay sleepy for long."

"W-what are you t-talking ab-bout?" she asked, wincing as he extinguished a still-flaming section of her jacket. "Y-you cut the b-bastard in-n _half_."

"Unfortunately, that won't keep him down for long," Vhetin admitted. "He was flown into a sun and still didn't die, remember?"

Jay nodded and closed her eyes. He patted her shoulder encouragingly and said, "You're going to be fine; a few bacta injections and you'll be good as new. I'm going to get you back to _Void,_ then we'll head out of here, all right?"

She nodded again absently as Vhetin hauled her to her feet, slinging her arm around his shoulders and supporting her weight. She tried to look over to see his face, to get a look at the man behind the helmet. The question had been nagging at her almost ever since she'd met him. But her vision was swiftly growing darker, and she found it harder and harder to keep her eyes open.

She blinked once, then slipped away into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Vhetin half-carried an unconscious Jay across the ruined courtyard, very aware of the fact that Durge's truncated limbs were beginning to twitch and move once more. He stepped up the pace, pausing only to grab his fallen saber-staff and replace his helmet. The interior of his helmet was still splattered with blood, but he didn't have time for squeamishness. Once done, he headed for <em>Void<em>'s coordinates, shown as a blue arrow on his HUD pointing him in the right direction.

_What in the hell happened here?_ He wondered, glancing around the clearing and still recording everything on his helmet's vidrecorder.

The ruined courtyard, the toppled pillar, the lack of power, the deserted compound; all pointed to an inevitable conclusion.

Someone had beat them there. Their mysterious competitor, Kalyn Farnmir, perhaps?

Even Durge showed evidence supporting that theory. Their fight with the Gen'dai had been costly, yes, but Vhetin could tell that the bounty hunter had not been in top condition; he'd been recovering from a recent wound.

Yes, someone had already been here. Someone else had eliminated the perimeter defenses, taken out the guards, attacked Durge before he and Jay had ever arrived. If it had been Farnmir, he had severely underestimated her abilities; she was a more dangerous bounty hunter than he originally had assumed.

But with Jay wounded and Durge already on the mend, the other bounty hunter was currently the least of their worries. Right now, he needed to get his partner to safety, then get away from Coruscant and find a new vantage point to start his hunt again.

As _Void_'s familiar spearhead shape faded into view through the shadows, Vhetin let out a sigh of relief. His ship had never been a more welcome sight.

_Well,_ he thought as he carried Jay up the landing ramp, _there was that time on Bogg Five, but... well, that doesn't really count. It wasn't my ship back then._

He secured Jay in the medical bay, vaguely realizing it was the second time since meeting her that he'd done so, and hooked a bacta IV into the back of her hand. He stayed for a moment to make sure everything, then headed for the cockpit to warm up the ship's engines.

Halfway there, an explosion shook the ship, throwing him against the bulkhead. In the relative quiet as the rumble of the explosion died away, Vhetin heard the muffled raring scream of an enraged Gen'dai.

_Oh kark it all..._

He sprinted into the cockpit, throwing himself into the copilot's chair and hitting several controls at once. He didn't even bother with the usual necessary pre-flight systems check; just gunned the engines as fast as safely possible. The deck bucked beneath him again.

This ship's ion engines were pushing at almost one hundred and fifty percent, but the ship wasn't lifting off. It just shook and bounced on its landing struts. Vhetin pushed the engines to two hundred percent, hearing another bellow from Durge, and tapped in the command to bring up the external video feed.

A hologram sprang to life in midair before him showing the front port view of the ship, and he quickly switched to the top rear view.

Durge was back all right, and angrier than ever.

Most of his armor had been left behind, and all that remained was part of his stomach plates, sections of his leg armor, and his arm-mounted cannon. The rest of his body was a hulking mass of pinkish-purple muscle. He was easily three times larger than he'd been before, and his right arm was nothing but flexing tendrils of muscle tissue. The arm was currently embedded within _Void_'s engine housing, keeping the ship firmly rooted on the ground.

Durge opened a tooth-studded maw and screamed, "_No one survives! NO ONE SURVIVES!_"

Vhetin popped the cap on a glowing red button on the command console, his finger hovering over it. Durge roared again, obviously attempting to rip the engines from their housing. Vhetin's face turned down in a scowl as he pushed the engines to three hundred percent, spraying fifteen-meter flames back at Durge. The blue-white fire enveloped the Gen'dai, causing dark purple smoke to waft away from his body, his muscles blackening and cracking from the heat. He screamed in pain, his eyes glowing red as thick strands of saliva flew from his mouth.

"Get the hell off my ship," Vhetin growled, "you disgusting son of a bitch."

He hit the red button and the ship bucked as if hit by another of Durge's turbolaser blasts. A crackling sound passed down the ship, and Vhetin lost video contact as a supercharged electric current flashed down the ship's exterior, burning Durge's tendrils away from the metal with a loud sizzle.

A shrieking roar of pain sounded from outside, and a freed _Void_ shot into the sky at last, blasting away from the abandoned MUV facility. An echoing roar followed the ship into the sky, loud enough that Vhetin heard it from his place in the pilot's seat.

As _Void_ headed for orbit, he collapsed back against his seat and let out a long breath, pulling off his bloodstained helmet again. According to the different readouts on the control console, _Void_ was only slightly damaged; a small crack in the housing of one ion engine, an overheating electro-current capacitor, and other minor problems. The important thing was that they had escaped more or less...

_Well, not unharmed,_ he thought, thinking of Jay, _but alive at least._

He swiveled in his seat, standing slowly as his muscles screamed in protest. He and Jay both had taken a hell of a beating at Durge's hands, and it would take some time before either of them were in any shape to fight again.

He shook his head. Sekha's information had been accurate, but it had cost too much. Jay would be fine; walking and talking as usual in just a couple hours, but it was still too close for comfort.

And it had all been for nothing, too; Kassh wasn't even there. Kalyn Farnmir had apparently beat Vhetin and Jay to the punch, and had probably turned the gangster in already.

Their next course of action?

Vhetin frowned and thought, _Find Kalyn Farnmir._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Unexpected Occurrences

**Imperial City, Planetary Orbit, Sector Y-398-29**

A long, winged, saber-shaped gap in space, black on black, hung in orbit over the dirty gray orb of Coruscant. No light emanated from it, save for the slight orange glow of powered-down ion drives. No sound came from it, as most of its systems were currently powered down. The ship just sat there in space, not moving even as transports three times its size roared past only meters away.

The Imperial Navy forces surrounding the planet had no desire to investigate the ship; they didn't even know it was there. With a planet like Coruscant, where trillions of ships entered and exited the system daily, there was little the Imperials could do to clamp their iron fist down on space-faring traveler's passage.

For hours the ship had hung there, as if watching, waiting. And its pilot was indeed waiting for something. Something very special.

"Anything yet?" Kalyn Farnmir said to the computer, tapping a button on the glowing green command console with a single gloved hand.

The darkness within the cockpit drew back slightly as a green hologram sprang up, displaying a loading screen. After a moment the screen disappeared, replaced by a long list of data and video windows; the security cams situated nearby equatorial spaceports. It was a good bet that her competitor would set down there, as they were the busiest ports on the planet. The perfect place for his ship to "disappear". Unfortunately for him, he didn't know that Kalyn had hidden computer taps throughout the Imperial security network, and could hack into virtually any security camera, anywhere, at any time.

But even with that major advantage, Coruscant was still a big planet. And finding a single ship out of trillions was not easy.

"_Nothing as of yet,_" the smooth male voice of the computer replied. "_But the search is fairly... broad. With more data I could-_"

"Narrow search results to ships of Kuati make," Kalyn interrupted, leaning back in the pilot's seat and crossing her legs. "An Abodel Z-three-ninety prototype stealth ship with a black and purple color scheme in particular. See if that narrows it down at all."

"_With specified search parameters, I will run through all relevant data in approximately fifteen galactic standard hours._"

"Constrain the search to the last five hours of video feed," Kalyn said. "That outpost on Rhen Var was ransacked yesterday afternoon. And I don't think Vhetin will stay at Bloody Dawn headquarters a second longer than he has to."

"_And you do not believe that your warning frightened this Mandalorian away?_"

She shrugged, her shoulder armor creaking softly as she did. "Mandos are tough enough as it is, and Vhetin's one of the most stubborn when it comes to hunting."

"_But do you not believe that your warning frightened him away?_"

"Look at the evidence: Sekha posts a bounty on Pollamo, and days later it's all over the Underworld channels that an Imperial base on Rhen Var has been destroyed. Two hours after that, his ship appears on Coruscant, making a beeline for Bloody Dawn Central. My guess is that he went to Sekha for info, she said she'd trade it if he brought Pollamo in, and now he's one step closer to catching up with me."

"_So you plan to eliminate him_."

Sekha shrugged. "If I have to."

Computer's vocal program paused, as if hesitating, then pointed out, "_Security holocams on Rhen Var recorded little more than dark blurs during the siege. How can you be certain it is Cin Vhetin who attacked the base?_"

"I know my competition," she said with the hint of a scowl. "And I know Vhetin's style. It was him."

"_And you wish to dispose of him before he discovers Kassh's coordinates?_"

Kalyn nodded slowly. "That, and I need to give my contacts time to check out Durge's intel. I need to be sure he was telling the truth; he was pretty messed-up when I questioned him."

"_Concentrated high-heat flame against organic tissue tends to have that effect on meatbag physiology,_" Computer observed.

"Yeah. And I don't trust him as far as I can throw him."

There was a long pause from Computer. Then the mechanical intelligence said, "_Your abnormal attempts at human sarcasm do not register with my personality coordinators. Please restate._"

"Just begin your search, Computer," Kalyn sighed. "And keep an eye on possible exit burns from a ship with the parameters I stated. Don't let anything get past you."

"_I will divert more ship power to my systems in accordance with your orders, mistress. I will also inform you if my search discovers anything, or when my search reaches completion._"

"Good," she said, rising from her chair. "I need to check up on the prisoner. I'll leave you in charge of things up here for a while."

"_Very good, mistress_."

Kalyn climbed down the ladder that lead from the cockpit down to the cargo area. The large room below housed everything from a mini armory to the ship's cages, one of which was currently occupied. The bulkhead walls were a pale gray-blue when light was shone directly on them; for now, the lights had been dimmed considerably to minimize power output and maximize the ship's stealth capabilities.

Kassh's neurotic brother, Killk, was trapped within one of the cages, his razor-tipped mechanical arms removed and hung on a wall-mounted peg nearby. Kalyn had caught the schutta trying to sneak away from the outpost after she'd dealt with Durge. She'd seen him scurrying away, hit him in the back with a stun round, and carted him off to her ship. He had a price on his own head — even though it was a measly 5,000 credits — and could provide useful intel as to Kassh's location and his plans.

As Kalyn approached, the Twi'lek was chewing on the bars of his cage, obviously unaware that they were built from a special cortosis-durasteel alloy that would hold back a rocket blast; organic teeth wouldn't get through it in a thousand years. When he saw the bounty hunter approaching, he shrank against the back wall of the cage, growling at her.

She'd only had the Twi'lek on her ship for a few hours and already she hated him with all her soul. Killk was rude, barely spoke coherent Basic, and had already stunk up the cages with his excrement. Kalyn had half a mind to shoot him right there and rid the galaxy of yet another pathetic life form.

_Of all the decent Twi'leks in the galaxy,_ she thought as she approached, _I had to get stuck with the one that has an Ugnaught's brain capacity._

Kalyn squatted in front of him, a disgusted scowl crossing her face.

"You'd better hope that Durge was telling the truth," she said slowly. "Or you won't live to see another sunrise."

Killk spat at her. "Kassh not need me. Killing me get nothing for you."

"On the contrary," she replied, "I get the satisfaction off ripping your entrails out myself and stringing them around the cockpit like streamers. And since you've refused to talk already..."

Killk gulped and paled to lighter shade of green. But he soon recovered, spitting at her again. "Kriff you, lady," he snapped, wrapping the stumps of his arms around himself to the best of his ability. "Kassh come and save me. He not leave me here."

"Get used to that cage, then," Kalyn said, standing fully again and turning back towards the cockpit. "You're going to spend the last hours of your life in there."

She headed for the ladder, making sure to walk very slow and giving the bounty time to reconsider. She had her boot on the bottom rung when Killk cried, "Wait! Wait!"

She turned ever so slowly, her hand resting casually on the butt of her pistol. She wanted the maximum intimidation possible, just in case Killk got defiant again. She had to assert her control over her prisoner, or she'd never get any information out of him.

She raised a single thin eyebrow and said, "Well? Ready to talk?"

Killk scowled, glaring around the room, looking anywhere but at her. That was a good sign; that meant he was giving in. When he finally met her gaze, he muttered, "I not want to die. And Kassh is a kriffer if ever I see one."

She knelt in front of the cage again. "Tell me what I want to know. Where is Kassh? What kind of firepower does he have at his disposal?"

Killk reached into the pocket of his filthy pants, and Kalyn instantly had her pistol in hand, aimed squarely between the Twi'lek's eyes. The alien squeaked, his eyes crossing to keep the barrel of the blaster in sight.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," Kalyn growled, tightening her finger on the trigger.

"It... It... It just... datacard," he stammered slowly, showing her the black and blue information chip. "P-put it in ship drive, and it show where Kassh is."

"How do I know it isn't going to infect my ship's computer with a virus?" she asked, holstering the pistol slowly. "Or send out a tracer signal that your Ultraviolet buddies can track to my location?"

"I not need to be in _more_ trouble," Killk whimpered pathetically. "That last thing I need."

The Twi'lek poked the datacard through the bars of the cage. Kalyn reached out to take it when suddenly Killk pulled it back.

"Wait," he said suddenly, sounding as if he'd just had an epiphany. Or the closest to an epiphany an idiot like him could get.

"I have idea," he squeaked. "I give you location if you give me free."

"You want me to let you go," Kalyn clarified, "In return for the datacard. You want me to let you go free."

He nodded emphatically. Kalyn nodded back, resisting the urge to kill the disgusting Twi'lek where he sat.

She _hated_ negotiating with prisoners. It was time-consuming and frustrating; the prisoner usually never settled for anything less than freedom from both imprisonment and repercussions of whatever trouble they would stir up. It was always the same, no matter how insignificant their bargaining chip. They wanted an excuse to continue with their immoral lifestyles.

Kalyn was not the kind of person to grant that wish. So, she pulled her pistol and pressed it through the bars again. She frowned in mock-thoughtfulness and said, "I have an idea of my own. How 'bout I shoot you now, deactivate the cage, and take the card anyway?"

Killk's eyes were almost as large as her ship's round viewports. His mouth dropped open and his lekku twitched in fear.

"Here's a proposition of my own." She motioned with a gloved hand. "Why don't you hand over that card, and maybe I won't kill you right now."

Looking numb with shock, Killk poked the datacard through the bars. Kalyn snatched it before the Twi'lek could change his mind again and holstered his blaster. She stood and headed back to the ladder.

"Hey!" Killk shouted after her. "Hey, you... you let me go now, right? Right?"

"I don't think so," Kalyn said, climbing up the ladder. "Whether your intel is helpful or not, you've still got an acceptable price on your head. And that's an opportunity I'm not going to pass up."

"B-but," Killk sputtered, "b-but... but..."

She left the Twi'lek to his sputtering, climbed back up the ladder and into the cockpit, and settled into her comfortable pilot's seat once more. She slotted the datacard into the command console and placed her hands behind her head.

The holographic view screen of the command console read that the chip was indeed clean of viruses. She nodded to herself, satisfied, and commanded the computer to display the card's contents.

With a hum, a set of geographical coordinates zoomed down on a holographic map of a dusty beige planet. When it finished, it showed that Kassh's base was situated exactly where Durge had told her.

_Well,_ she thought, genuinely surprised, _I guess that walking slimeball was telling the truth after all._

She sighed and settled deeper into her chair.

_Almost twenty years of dealing with scumbags and murderers, _she thought with a sigh. _All of them with some kind of grudge against bounty hunters in general. Most of them trying to kill me, lock me in prison, or trying to shoot my ship down. And that's not even mentioning the other bounty hunters trying to take me out before I can get at their bounty, like Cin Vhetin is no doubt about to try right now._

_ Fierfek_, she thought, shaking her head and closing her eyes. _Sometimes I really hate this job._

* * *

><p><strong>Imperial City, Outlander Nightclub, many years ago<strong>

"So... how exactly are we going to go about this?" Cian Shee said, looking up from the datapad Kalyn was holding out for her. The 'pad showed the slowly panning cam view of a well-guarded compound that almost looked as if it was a collection of churches.

Kalyn leaned forward on the bar and put her hand under her chin. "I don't exactly know. I'm guessing that we're going to need a couple cubes of K-3 explosive, an armored vehicle of some type... oh, and we're going to have to hire a third man to fill a sniper position."

Shee grinned and clapped her hands. "I have just the person."

"Who?" Kalyn asked, narrowing her eyes.

"A Weequay named Ypalpo. He grew up shooting womp rats on Tatooine and eventually became one of the best speed-shooting sniper in the Outer Rim colonies."

Kalyn blinked slowly. "Um... care to run that by me again? _Who_?"

"Ypalpo," Cian repeated.

Kalyn stared at her and blinked slowly. "I have no clue how you're able to pronounce that," she said in amazement.

"Just call him 'Scooter,'" Cian grinned. "Everyone else does."

"I change my mind," Kalyn said, turning back to the datapad and cutting the video feed. "I like Pyalpo or whatever he's called better. How much does he charge?"

"He's a Weequay," Cian said, shrugging and sipping at her dark green drink. "He charges more than he's worth. But we can afford him; don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Kalyn asked.

Cian sighed and set down her drink, watching as a handsome, leather-clad Twi'lek male passed by. As soon as he passed, she looked over to Kalyn. "Farnmir, how long have we been partners?"

"Five years," Kalyn replied instantly. "Ever since I got flushed out of the Kuati Security Force."

"And how many times have I been wrong about anything? Anything at all?"

"There was that time on Bespin, when you said there wouldn't be any karking Jedi that far from the Mid-Rim," Kalyn said, counting off on her fingers. "And that time on Malastare when you bought that second-hand podracer that you were _absolutely sure_ wouldn't explode the moment we turned it on. And there was that time-"

"Okay, okay," Cian said, raising her hands in surrender. "So I've made some mistakes. But how many times have I made a pre-meditated mistake?"

"There was that time on-"

"_Fine_. Just... just trust me, okay? Ypalpo will come through."

"Is he up to the challenge? The Psusan Zealots have a pretty big operation."

Cian chuckled. "Trust me; he's dealt with shadier characters than the Psusan Zealots. I heard he used to work for Black Sun back in the day. Collecting payments that certain idiotic clients refused to pay to them."

"Black Sun's just a leech on the galactic black market," Kalyn said. "Nothing like the schemes the Zealots are involved in."

"You two gonna order anything else?" the human bartender interrupted, walking up to their end of the bar. "'Cause it's almost closing time, and I've got a life too."

Cian smiled. "One more round, handsome, then we'll be out of your hair. We're just waiting to meet up with someone."

The bartender nodded and passed them both another tall, dark green Rancor Crusher, even though Kalyn still had a full mug sitting on the bar next to her. Cian loved the drink, ordering it wherever she could; Kalyn, less so.

After sitting in silence for a few moments, scanning the cantina around them, Kalyn leaned over to her partner and said, "Who, exactly, are we looking for? You said a Nemoidian?"

Cian nodded. "He's got no love for the Zealots, and he's been looking for a way out of their jurisdiction for years. He makes the occasional trip to the Outlander to stock up on information and booze."

"Oh," Kalyn said, nodding toward the entrance to the cantina. "That's him there, isn't it?"

A dark green-skinned Nemoidian clothed in ragged nerf-leather clothing had just walked in, heading straight for the bar. He paused when he saw the two bounty hunters, staring at them for a moment with wide red eyes. Then he spun on his heel and dashed away, back outside.

Kalyn patted her silver-plated blaster and looked over at her partner.

"He's probably got a speeder out there," she said with a grin. "You up for a high-speed chase?"

Cian grinned back and pushed away from the bar. "Always. Let's go get him."

* * *

><p><strong>Present Day<strong>

"_Mistress? Mistress, you must awaken."_

The soft voice of Computer brought Kalyn from her shallow sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, giving them time to adjust to the darkness of the cockpit and the green light thrown by the control panel before her.

She looked around the cockpit for a moment, not entirely awake. She could still hear Cian's words, as if her old partner was right in the cockpit with her.

_Just trust me, okay?_ she'd said.

_Trust me._

Kalyn leaned forward in her seat, burying her face in her hands and letting out a long breath. She squeezed her eyes shut and thought, _If only I could, Cian. If only I could..._

"_Mistress?_" Computer pressed. "_I must notify you of present events._"

She sat up straighter, looked across the control panel for any problems, then snapped back to business mode.

"What is it, Computer?" she asked, running a low-power diagnostic of the ship's systems.

"_You ordered me to inform you if I found the ship you are searching for, or when my search time ended._"

"And?"

"_A single Abodel Z-three-ninety stealth prototype is making its way through Imperial City's orbital defenses. Transponder codes and color schemes match those of your previous search parameters._"

She locked the pilot's chair into flight position and took manual control of her ship. Her eyes narrowed as she grasped the flight yoke and said, "Show me where."

A holographic map of the space surrounding Coruscant – green like the rest of the controls — sprang to life in front of her. A flashing spearhead shape labeled _Void_ was slowly making its way away from the planet, headed for the hyperspace lanes.

Kalyn spun up the ship's drives and blasted toward the ship's coordinates, saying, "Give me the fastest intercept course possible."

"_Adjust heading point-fourteen degrees starboard and increase engine speed to one hundred-fifteen percent. You will intercept Cin Vhetin's ship within three minutes._"

"That's not fast enough."

"_Any faster, and the Imperials will notice your presence,_" Computer pointed out. "_I would suggest my course of action if you wish to maintain suitable anonymity while still within Imperial space._"

She scowled and followed Computer's advice, tapping in a sequence of codes to release the safeties on the ship's weapons systems and activating the ion cannon mounted beneath the ship's nose.

She pushed the engines to one hundred thirty percent; pressing her advantage, but hopefully not so much that nearby Imperial forces would take notice.

After two minutes of tense piloting, the spearhead shape of Vhetin's stealth ship, _Void_, came into view. The faded black-purple color of the ship was difficult to pick out against the starry background of space, something Kalyn assumed came in handy when being followed. But not this time; she had him right where she wanted him.

She fell into line behind the ship as it cut behind one of the enormous orbital mirrors that regulated Coruscant's weather and sunlight. She hung back far enough that she wouldn't draw Vhetin's attention, biding her time until the ion cannon charged.

She waited even as Computer notified her that the cannon had charged. She was waiting for a single moment, that one moment when Vhetin would let his guard down.

After all, when one believes completely that they're in the clear, that there's no way anything can stop them, even the most paranoid being in the galaxy will relax. It was just sentient nature.

_Void_ came to a halt, then began to rotate slowly, lining up with the hyperspace lane that would take him back to Mandalore. She hesitated; was he giving up? Or was he heading back to his home planet for reinforcements? In the end it didn't really matter; he had to be taken out either way.

_ Void_'s engines began to glow blue-white as the hyperdrive began to come online. Kalyn waited precisely three seconds before saying, "Computer, fire the ion cannon directly when the hyperdrive is engaged. I want your accuracy level set to maximum; hit him the _moment_ he pushes that lever forward."

"_As you wish, mistress. Should I then plot a docking course so you may board his ship?_"

"Good guess, Computer," she said as she pushed away from the command console. She slid down the ladder to the cockpit and made straight for her mini-armory, ignoring Killk's futile attempts to beg her for mercy. She quickly grabbed a blaster rifle, two short-range pistols that she slid into the holsters on the back of her belt, and a thin vibroblade that she sheathed in her boot. She then grabbed ammo for all her weapons, feeding charged magazines into each weapon. She grabbed twice as many ammo clips for her pistol, storing them in the pouch on her belt.

_ Here I come, Vhetin,_ she thought with a deeper scowl as she holstered her silver-plated pistol. _Ready or not._

* * *

><p>Vhetin sat back in the pilot's seat, helmet in his lap, letting the autopilot take control while he cleaned the blood from the inside of his helmet with a dry cloth. The blood wasn't coming out easy. His blood never did.<p>

He'd probably have to swap out the _buy'ce_ for a clean one. He'd need to be at the top of his game to bring Kassh in; anything short of that, and the Twi'lek would escape yet again.

He set aside the cloth and inspected the inside of his helmet. It was clean enough for the moment, and he could finish up later. Right now, he needed to check on Jay.

He replaced his helmet and left the cockpit, heading back for the small med bay. His HUD was still tinted a faint red, but it was fine for now.

He keyed open the door and stepped inside. Jay was sitting on the edge of the medical bench, head in her hands. She looked up when he stepped in.

Vhetin winced inwardly; her face was covered in burns and abrasions, courtesy of Durge's cannon and the shrapnel that accompanied the explosion. She'd heal and be back to normal in no time — there wouldn't even be any scars — but it was still difficult to look at.

_She must have been in a lot of pain_, he thought as he asked, "How are you feeling?"

She let out a quiet chuckle. "Like I've been shot out of a cannon with no padding. How about you?"

"Don't worry about me," he replied, checking the bacta levels in her IV drip. "I'm not the one who almost took a turbolaser round in the chest."

Jay nodded distractedly, rubbing her eyes and wincing because of her raw skin. She took a deep breath and said, "Where are we?"

"We're about to leave Coruscant. I was just checking up on you before we left."

"That's thoughtful of you," she said. "But where are we going? We're not giving up, are we?"

"No," he replied. "We just need to get back to Mandalore and see if we can find a new place to start our hunt."

"Why not go back to Sekha?" she asked. "She gave us the information we needed before."

He shrugged. "I'd rather not push our luck with that; she'd probably just make us deal with another of her bounties anyway. Instead, I'm going to do a little research on big MUV movements over the past few weeks; see if Kassh is trying to move his organization to another planet. That might give us somewhere to start."

He put a hand on her shoulder. "You did well back there, and you'll be good as new in a few hours. Get some rest, and I'll check back in when we're back in the Mandalore system."

He was halfway to the door when Jay said, "Hey Vhetin?"

He turned back to her. "Yeah, what's up?"

She was frowning, staring at her hands distractedly. When she looked up at him, there was a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"Kalyn Farnmir," she said. "It's not possible she has the information we're looking for, is it?"

He stared at her, surprised. He blinked slowly and said, "I... I don't know. It's possible, I guess. It's possible that she attacked Durge before we ever got there."

"And that's why he wasn't in the mood to talk to us when he found us."

He nodded, still thinking. "I think you're right. We should still stop back at Mandalore to restock on weapons and supplies, but... Jay, I think you've found the new place to begin."

"I'm here to help," she replied.

He smiled beneath his helmet and stepped out the door, heading back to the cockpit.

It was a good idea; if Farnmir had wrung the information from Durge, she'd know exactly where Kassh was. All they needed to do was find her. And if she was really as adamant as she seemed about taking them out of the fight, he'd guess that she wasn't all that far away.

He settled himself into the pilot's seat and ran a quick diagnostic of the nav computer. The diagnostic said that they were almost ready to jump to hyperspace. It would just take a few moments for the nav computer to get the ship aligned with the proper hyperspace coordinates.

At the completion tone, he double checked the nav coordinates and pushed the activation lever forward.

That was when everything went to hell.

The ship's diagnostic had said there was nothing out of place, but the moment he pushed the lever forward, there was a massive, crackling explosion and the ship spun wildly out of control, throwing him against the command console. The gravity compensators prevented him from crashing into the ceiling, but he cursed as the space beyond the front viewport whirled in dizzying arcs.

"Damn it!" he shouted, grasping at the flight yoke. The ship's lights flickered, and the control console sparked.

Another explosion sent the ship careening in the other direction. Vhetin cursed again and wrestled with the controls. The ship shook and began to level out, but another explosion rocked the ship, and the lights on the control console sputtered and died.

The door slid open and Jay staggered into the cockpit, shouting, "What the hell is going on?"

"Ion cannon!" he shouted back. "We're under attack!"

She slid into the gunner's seat with a pained groan and tapped at the controls. After a moment, she slapped the side of the monitor and snapped, "Power's out!"

A readout panel on the control console exploded, sending a shower of sparks into Vhetin's face. He raised his arm to block his eyes, then slammed his fist on the console. "Yeah, I picked up on that."

"Who's shooting at us?"

The ship suddenly ground to a halt, hard enough that it threw the both of them against the command console. A loud rumble began to echo through the ship, and the space outside began to glow with an eerie green light.

"Tractor beam," Jay said, staring at the light. Vhetin pushed himself off the controls and tapped at a nearby keypad, furiously trying to reengage the ship's power core. It was no use; the core was offline, and nothing but time would bring it online again.

The green light slowly faded, replaced by the booming, clanking sound of two ship's docking clamps fastening onto each other. Both he and Jay looked up at the ceiling as the bulkheads shook beneath them. After a few more clanking booms, everything was still and silent.

"Kriff," Jay muttered. "Someone's trying to board us."

"Three guesses who," Vhetin muttered, tapping at the keypad to no effect.

"Farnmir," she muttered, wincing as the ship shook once more.

Vhetin shoved himself away from the console and moved to the hall outside, motioning for Jay to follow him. She hauled herself out of the chair and limped after him, wincing with every step.

Vhetin headed for the armory, taking a single step into the room and grabbing everything he could reach. He grabbed two pistols and his lightsabers, holstering and clipping them onto his belt. He tossed Jay a second pistol — which she caught carefully — before grabbing a nearby rifle and his saber-staff.

"Get back to the med bay," he said to Jay, "seal the door, and don't come out until I tell you."

"What?" she said. "What do you mean? I'm heading up to the docking bay with you!"

"Not when you're in such a vulnerable state," he replied. "You aren't going to hold up long in a firefight."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Don't argue!" Vhetin snapped as another rumble shook the ship. He slung the rifle over his shoulderand said, "We don't have much time. Just do it."

She scowled, but nodded and limped off to the medical bay, disappearing within and closing the door behind her. Vhetin watched her go, then turned and headed further down the hall, slipping into the docking ring airlock.

The docking ring protruded from the wall some distance, so it wasn't hard to squeeze into the small area next to the ring where he would be almost completely concealed from whoever was trying to board his ship.

With a metallic rumble, the docking port irised open, and Vhetin heard slow, cautious bootsteps on the durasteel bulkhead. A being slowly crept into view, and Vhetin activated his HUD's audio/video pickup to record their attacker.

Their attacker was human, obviously female, of medium height and build with a short, military-style haircut. She was wearing form-fitting black body armor, had a single elbow-length black glove on her right arm, and carried a silver-plated pistol in one hand.

Vhetin's face turned down in a scowl as he thought, _I was right. Kalyn Farnmir wasn't that far away._

He would have preferred engaging her on his own terms, but at least he still had the element of surprise. He slowly crept out from his hiding space beside the docking ring, putting as little weight as possible on his toes to muffle the sounds of his bootsteps. Hopefully, the sound of the ship's ion drive would help to cover up the sound.

He slowly crept up behind Farnmir, raising the deactivated saber-staff over his head. A quick blow to the head would stun her, maybe knock her unconscious. He'd restrain her, and then he'd finally be able to get some answers.

He swung the staff down as hard as he could. Before it could connect, Farnmir somehow anticipated the blow, spinning and catching the staff. She wrenched it aside, out of the way, and drove an armored elbow into Vhetin's faceplate. He staggered back a few steps, his saber-staff hitting the floor and rolling away, out of reach. Farnmir raised her silver-plated pistol, her finger tightening on the trigger.

Vhetin dropped, lashing out with his foot and managing to hook his boot around her ankles. She fell backwards, hitting the bulkhead wall with a surprised grunt. Her pistol discharged with a _snap_ against the wall, creating a small explosion of sparks. He moved forward, raising his pistols, but she drove her boot heel into his gut hard enough to knock the breath out of him, even through the armor. As he doubled over, she slammed her foot upward, catching him in the chin and making his teeth slap together with a quiet _clack_. He fell back against the opposite wall, holding his face.

Farnmir flipped back up to her feet, grabbing her weapon and swiveling to bring him into view of the pistol's sights. Vhetin tensed and drew his own twin blasters. They both froze as their weapons trained on each other's head. There was suddenly silence in the room.

Neither of them fired; they just stood there, frozen in place, weapons pointed squarely at each other's faces.

Farnmir sneered and broke the silence first. "You didn't really think I wouldn't hear a fully armored Mandalorian trying to sneak up behind me? What kind of idiot do you take me for?"

Vhetin said nothing. He just narrowed his eyes, his HUD automatically zooming in on Farnmir's face. His targeting reticle centered on her forehead and turned red to indicate a good shot. All he had to do was squeeze the trigger a little more...

"Don't even think about it," Farnmir said, as if she could read his mind. "You kill me, and we both die."

"Small arms fire isn't effective against my armor," he replied. "So unless you're secretly packing a disintegrator..."

"Come on," she said, grinning and raising her left hand slowly. "I'm no newcomer to this business. I did better."

A small, round thermal detonator was clasped in her hand, quietly beeping and flashing a tiny red light; both signs that the grenade was armed and counting down. They would only have a minute at the most before the thing exploded, and even in full _beskar'gam_, there was no way Vhetin could survive such a blast. When Vhetin looked closer, he also saw that there was a small ring hooked around her thumb.

A kill switch. If her finger came off the det's trigger and pulled that ring from the det's housing, the bomb would automatically explode.

Farnmir flexed her fingers over the retracted activation cap, making the kill switch shake dangerously. She glanced at it, then looked back up at Vhetin with a triumphant look on her face, saying, "Unless you want to meet your maker earlier than anticipated, I'd suggest you lower your weapons."

Vhetin didn't move. He wasn't about to fall for that; if he lowered his weapons, she would just shoot him there and deactivate the bomb.

She sighed and said, "Fine, you want a sign of good faith? I'll lower mine first. But if you shoot me, and my finger comes off this trigger, the det goes of instantly. Can that get through that thick helmet of yours?"

Vhetin cursed quietly and lowered his guns as Farnmir holstered her pistol. He scooped up his fallen saber-staff and glared at her through his helmet's T-visor.

"What do you want?" he asked. "I don't think that you came here to wish me luck on my hunt."

She shrugged as she carefully extricated her thumb from the kill switch and retracted the detonator's activation cap, deactivating the explosive. "I warned you to stay away from Kassh," she said. "I warned you of the consequences."

"I don't listen to death threats," he replied. "If I did, I wouldn't even be able to leave Mandalore."

She nodded, looking impressed. "Good point. But I'm not going to let you take Kassh in. I-"

"I know all about your history with Kassh," Vhetin interrupted. "And frankly, I don't care. I got first word of the bounty, I risked life and limb to gather information on her, and I'm the one who had to kick Durge's ass to investigate his base."

She scoffed. "A base where I had already eliminated the perimeter guard, the patrols, and Kassh's guards. Even with your big, bad Mandalorian attitude, _I _got there first."

"So why are you attacking us?" Vhetin snapped, folding his arms across his chest. "If you've already taken Kassh in, why-"

She laughed, making him stop. She tucked the detonator back onto her belt and stared at him with disbelief. "You really think I have Kassh? You think that I was any more successful than you were?"

He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Kassh wasn't at the base when I got there," Farnmir said. "He'd left hours before I even arrived in-system."

Vhetin absorbed that quickly; Kassh was still on the loose. He and Jay still had a chance to salvage something from this. If they could just track down where he went...

His gaze slowly traveled back to Farnmir. He narrowed his eyes and said, "So what happens now?"

She shrugged. "My original plan was to sneak on-board, kill you before you had the chance to defend yourself, then head off on my own. But you've karked up that plan, haven't you?"

"You know where Kassh is?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I wrung it out of Durge when I brought him down."

He looked at her skeptically, his gaze lingering on her holstered pistol. A tiny weapon like that wouldn't be near enough firepower to even make the Gen'dai flinch. "You took Durge down? How?"

She grinned again. "You don't want to know. Suffice to say, I exploited the biggest physical weakness that almost every male being in this galaxy has. And I used a concussion grenade to get the job done."

He nodded slowly. Things were slowly starting to fall together here. He leaned back against the wall and said, "Look; I don't want to kill you. I've got a wounded partner, a dead-end hunt, and now a dead ship. I've got more important things to do than engage in a duel to the death with a fellow bounty hunter."

"Wise choice."

"And I'm sure you don't want to waste the time and ammunition to kill me," he continued. "We both have bigger aiwhas to fry here, so it doesn't make sense that we should turn on each other."

She thought over this, then eventually nodded. "It would be smarter for me to set out right now. I've already wasted enough time tracking you down. But I warned you-"

"Kriff what you ordered me," he interrupted. "Even split three ways, Kassh's bounty is more than adequate."

"So you're suggesting we work together?" she said skeptically. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've had more than my share of backstabbing."

"We've each got something the other needs," Vhetin pointed out. "You have Kassh's location, and my partner and I will just be that much more firepower on your side."

"I can handle myself."

"Then you're a fool," he snapped. "Kassh isn't going to fall back to the middle of nowhere. He's going to head back to a well-defended position, where there's no way anyone can get to him."

"I see your point," she admitted. "But if you think I'm going to trust you because you have bigger guns than me-"

"I'm not asking you to trust me. I'm advising you to allow us to follow you so we can provide fire support."

"And if I refuse?"

"If you'd prefer to go back to pointing our guns at each other..." Vhetin said, shrugging.

She scowled. "No, I guess you're right. I don't like it, but we'll have to work together for now."

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it myself, but it's infinitely preferable to the alternative. I have your word you won't shoot us in the back the first chance you get?"

She heaved a sigh. "Do you need to spoil _all_ my fun?"

"Swear it."

"Fine. I promise I won't shoot you in the back when all this is done. I swear it on my reputation as a bounty hunter."

Vhetin stared at her for a moment, then grunted, satisfied. "Fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an injured partner I need to check up on."

She nodded and turned back to the docking ring and her own ship. "I'll transmit the coordinates to your ship when you have power again. And I have _your_ word that you won't take the coordinates and shoot off to get Kassh on your own?"

He nodded. "Like I said, I've got bigger problems right now. And I'm usually a pretty straight-forward guy; scheming and plotting just makes my head hurt."

"Hmm," Farnmir said with the hint of a smile. "Honesty. I like that in a fellow bounty hunter."

He didn't respond. He just left the room and sealed the door behind him, just in case Farnmir got any funny ideas. He may have agreed to work with her for a time, but that didn't mean he trusted her. In fact, it was just the opposite; Farnmir had already proved to be cunning and volatile, and those were qualities that made Vhetin nervous.

There was a loud rumble as Farnmir's ship began to lift away from the _Void,_ swiftly followed by a loud _clank_ as the docking clamp released. Vhetin felt the ship slowly began to drift through space once more. The power core was still offline, then.

He knocked on the door the med bay; three sharp raps, then two more after a short pause. It was a signal he'd taught Jay early on in her training. Anyone trying to impersonate him wouldn't know the signal, and therefore, would reveal himself.

The door instantly slid open, and Jay stuck her head out, looking up and down the hall.

"Is she dead yet?" she asked.

"No," Vhetin replied, stepping back to allow her to limp out of the room. She was already walking better, and most of the burns on her face and hands had healed up. "But she won't be trying to kill us any more. At least not for a while."

She frowned and followed him to the armory. As he replaced his weapons, he said, "She has Kassh's location; his _real_ location. She's agreed to work with us as long as she gets a piece of the reward."

"I don't really believe that," she said. "After she went through all the trouble to keep us away? It sounds suspicious."

"I didn't believe her either," he admitted, hooking his saber-staff back onto the wall. "But it's not like we have any other choice."

She frowned and replaced her borrowed pistol. "How did you get her to agree to work with us?"

He shrugged. "Aggressive negotiations."

She snorted. "Yeah. I'll bet. What did you do, hit her over the head then tell her that you just want to be friends?"

"I tried," he shot back. "But it didn't quite work out that way. All that matters is getting to Kassh. She seemed content to hold up her end of the bargain and provide us with Kassh's location as long as we don't try and knock her out of the picture, so I'm going to uphold my end and not try and kill her again."

"You did exclude me from that arrangement, right?" Jay said with a scowl. She gestured at the burns on her arms and face. They were fading quickly, but still visible. "It's her fault that I was hurt. She had already pissed Durge off badly enough that he had to take it out on _somebody_. And don't even get me started on the damn Kath hounds."

"Because of her, we didn't have to sneak past the patrols, guards, and turrets _as well_ as Durge and the Kath hounds. You should be thankful."

She nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. What do you think would be appropriate thanks? Five blocks of lit baradium?"

"Come in _Void_," came Farnmir's voice over the comm. "Prepare to receive the coordinates for Kassh's base. Transmitting now."

"Copy that, uh..." Vhetin paused, then said, "What exactly is your ship's name, Farnmir? Your transponder reads-"

"The transponder's spot on, Vhetin," she interrupted. "The ship's name is _Tough Luck_."

Jay cracked the first hint of a smile. "Okay, I have to admit; I like that."

"Follow me, and don't fall behind. I'm not stopping, and I'm not waiting for you rookies."

"'Rookies?'" Jay and Vhetin said simultaneously, frowning at each other.

Then the _Tough Luck_ disappeared as it jumped to hyperspace. Jay let out a breath as Vhetin synced up the nav computer. She shook her head and muttered, "I can see that this is going to be a wonderful partnership. Where do the coordinates lead, anyway?"

"Uh, it looks like the outskirts of Anchorhead, Tatooine," Vhetin replied. "Uh oh. That's going to make things a little more difficult."

"Why?"

He shrugged, glad that his helmet masked the pained look on his face. "Let's just say I... caused some problems the last time I was there. Expect a frosty reception."

She snorted. "No problem. That's like my normal mindset now. Between being shot at, mauled, and almost blown up, I'm starting to expect the worst out of people."

Vhetin said nothing more as he pushed forward the activation lever. The stars blurred to streaks, then with a roar, _Void_ erupted into hyperspace, following their former enemies' ship into the unknown.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Through the Streets

** Later**

Jay could almost feel the heat of the desert, even through _Void's_ bulkheads. It was the scenery; the swirling sands baked by the planet's twin suns, the shimmering heat waves that broke up the horizon and almost made her eyes hurt, and especially the cloudless light blue sky. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, feeling the slightest sheen of sweat already.

As _Void_ coasted down over the seemingly endless desert that covered almost ninety-nine percent of Tatooine's surface, Vhetin dialed out a hailing code for Mandalore. Brianna's comlink, as a matter of fact.

"So let me get this straight," she said. "Brianna has a _base_ here?"

He nodded as the ship settled down into a spaceport on the outskirts of the city. "In a way. A few years ago, she and I helped start a local militia group here to keep the troublemakers in check."

"Might that have something to do with the reason you're not well-liked here?" she inquired, gripping the back of the pilot's seat. The deck jumped beneath her feet as the ship settled into its landing struts.

He paused, then said, "Yeah, something to do with that. I wasn't as helpful as she was."

He typed in a few commands into the control console. "The point is that these guys owe her. And me, though they probably won't honor that arangement considering the last time I came through here. And right now, calling in a few of those favors is exactly what we need."

"I'd ask Brianna's permission first," she said. "Just to make sure she's comfortable with that."

"That's exactly what I'm about to do."

The radio switched on, and Vhetin said, "Brianna. Hey Bri, it's me. Come in."

The comm cut out and a blue-white hologram of Brianna flashed to life above the command console. It was a half-sized holo of the woman's head and shoulders that faded into oblivion at her waist.

"Hey there," she said, folding her arms. "What's the problem, Cin?"

Vhetin sat back in his seat and said, "We're on Tatooine right now. We're closing in on Kassh, but I need some info from you."

"You think that I can provide better intel than Tarron? He's been digging into Kassh's past like a Kolo mole for the past few hours; he won't even stop to eat."

"This isn't about Kassh. I just need some info about your contacts in Anchorhead. You keep in better touch with them than I do."

She let out a short laugh. "Cin, I don't think they're going to be in the mood to talk to you. Not after the last time you met up with them."

"I don't doubt that. But I don't have time for the past. Do you know where your pals in the militia set up their new headquarters?"

"After you blew up the old one to get at a bounty?"

Jay frowned and glanced at Vhetin curiously. He shook his head and muttered, "Another time."

He turned back to Brianna's holo. "Just tell me where I can find Massano."

Brianna shrugged. "He's not going to stay in one place for long; Jabba the Hutt has been gunning for him and his militia for years now. But you know that."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to contact him?" Jay asked Vhetin. "Seeing as how we're working for Jabba now?"

Brianna's holo turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, and how're you holding up, Rookie?"

Jay shrugged. "Good, I think. I'm barely keeping up with events here."

"Just give it your best," Brianna reassured her. "Vhetin's watching your back, so you should be perfectly safe. And you'll-"

"Um," Vhetin interrupted, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need this information quickly. If Kassh is dug in here, we're not going to be able to take him down with only three people."

Brianna raised an eyebrow curiously. "Three? Who else is there?"

"Uh... Kalyn Farnmir," he muttered.

Brianna grinned and said, "Kark it all, Vhetin. You just can't help but defuse situations, can you? You've never been able to just grit your teeth and pull the trigger."

"The situation was a little more complicated than that."

Brianna shrugged and put her hands on her hips. "Okay Stripes. I'll give you the info you need. But I can't be held responsible for what Quoren Massano does to you when you show up at his doorstep."

"Let us worry about that," Jay said. "I think we can handle it."

"If you say so." Brianna grinned and said, "Okay, transmitting his coordinates now. Please update me as to what Quoren does to you, will you? I need something new to tease you about."

The coordinates scrolled across a readout on the control console, zooming in on a crowded urban area of Anchorhead. Vhetin checked the coordinates and said, "Okay. Thanks, Bri, we'll get on it."

She nodded. "I'll be waiting for your return call."

Her hologram sputtered out, and Vhetin switched off the holotransmitter. He clapped his hands as he stood and headed for the exit ramp. "Okay. Let's pass this info on to our new ally and see if we can't find Massano."

"And who is this guy? Apart from the head of the local militia?"

"I'll fill you in on the way," he said as they stepped out into the blistering heat of Tatooine's desert. Jay squinted as her eyes adjusted to the blinding light from the planet's twin suns. She shielded her eyes from the suns as she made out the blurry form of Farnmir's ship, the _Tough Luck_, gliding down next to them. It was only a few moments before Farnmir was heading toward them, buckling a datapad over the elbow-length glove on her right arm.

"What's the holdup?" she asked, as if she could read their minds.

"We're going to see if we can't find some help," Jay explained at Vhetin's prompt. "If Kassh has a base here, we're not going to get in there on our own."

"Splitting the bounty between even more people?" the bounty huntress asked skeptically.

Vhetin slowly turned his gaze to her and said, "The guys I'm going to talk with won't want the money. If I know them, they'll just want Kassh out of here."

"Fine," Farnmir nodded, satisfied. " I'm going to scout Kassh's base using the coordinates Durge gave me and see just how prepared he is for us. I'll contact you as soon as I know anything."

Jay narrowed her eyes. "How do we know you won't just try and go after Kassh without us? Claim the reward on your own?"

Farnmir let out a short laugh. "I may be a good bounty hunter, but I'm not stupid. Charging in with no intel against unknown security forces is not my idea of a smart move."

"Besides," she added as she turned away, "I gave you my word."

She turned away and began walking toward the exit. As she went, she called over her shoulder, "I also transmitted a secondary bounty; some human who's supposed to be big in Kassh's business here. Keep an eye out for him, would you? He might provide us some intel on Kassh's forces here."

She stepped through the archway that led out to the busy street, where large cargo speeders were flashing by, looked down the street, then disappeared into the city.

As Vhetin and Jay set off on their own task, she looked over at him and said, "So what exactly happened between you and the local militia?"

"Ah, well... a long time ago I... well, I kind of beat up Massano and blew up one of their safe houses. It was only later that I found out that the safe house was also their headquarters."

"Uh-huh," Jay said, taking in the information and nodding slowly. "And when you say you beat up this militia leader, Massano, do you mean..."

"My previous partner and I shot him in the chest with a stun bolt," Vhetin replied tersely. "He spent a week in a medcenter."

"Ah. So that's why you said not to expect a warm welcome."

Vhetin let out a quiet laugh, though there was little humor in the sound. "I'll be surprised if he doesn't shoot us on sight."

They walked on in silence for a few more moments, crossing a street bustling with all manner of human and alien species. Jay even spotted a few of the short, hooded Jawas that she'd heard of during her days as a fighter pilot. Her friend Oppan had seemed to especially hate the creatures.

"Vermin," he'd said during his rare moments of vocalization. "They'd steal a moisture evaporator from a man dying of dehydration. The buggers should be exterminated."

He'd always been quiet, and it was for that reason that his short tirade against the Jawas had stuck in her head after so long. She didn't know if he'd been telling the truth, but she did know that something about the little creatures had always given her the creeps; their shaded faces, glittering eyes, and hushed speech had sent shivers down her spine, even when simply watching holos of the little beings.

Even as she and Vhetin stepped out onto the streets, the beings flocked toward them like hawkbats toward carrion. They were not interested in Jay, however; their attention was focused raptly on Vhetin. The Mandalorian was a walking death machine, carrying more mechanical equipment and weapons than most beings knew was possible. Jay hid a smile as she thought, _if they're mechanical thieves, Vhetin must be something close to a god to them._

The bounty hunter brushed them aside, muttering, "Get away from me. Go on."

The little beings scampered away, pausing a few meters from them and staring at Vhetin from a distance with those glittering eyes. They pointed at him and whispered among each other.

"Looks like you've made some friends already," Jay said with a barely-hidden grin.

Vhetin shook his head and growled, "Little runts. Last time I stopped by Tatooine, they stripped _Void_ of almost all her external sensory equipment. They took something close to a thousand credits of mechanical scanners."

"And you just parked your ship here again?"

He shook his head and she heard a tone of grim amusement in his voice as he said, "No. Now I have an electro-shocker that locks down the ship. Once _Void_ is locked down, anyone who tries to break into her gets a three-thousand teratoll surprise."

"A teratoll?" Jay asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"It's a unit of electrical power used near the Mandalorian sector of the galaxy that we've picked up," he explained. "Let's just say any intruder wouldn't even be alive long enough for their nerves to register the pain of the electrical shock."

Jay winced. "Ouch. Remind me never to go anywhere near your ship while you're not there."

"It makes a hell of a mess when local birds get the idea to roost in _Void_'s engine housings."

They walked on in silence for a time, taking side roads and alleys and trying their best to avoid other civilians. Jay understood Vhetin's reasoning for that; if Kassh had set up a base nearby, it was a good bet that he had contacts in Anchorhead that would open fire on the two bounty hunters as soon as they came into view. If they stayed away from the main roads, their chances of being gunned down decreased dramatically.

After several more minutes, Vhetin spoke. Jay was surprised; he wasn't usually one who initiated conversation.

"So," he said, sounding casual, "you seem to be getting along with Brianna better than before. I told you that she'd warm up to you eventually."

Jay frowned slightly as she noticed a tense note in his voice. Something was wrong; she could tell. She was about to say something to point this out, but he suddenly grasped her arm and whispered, "We're being followed. Third building behind us, there's a human male trying to be sneaky. My I.D scanner shows that it's that human bounty Farnmir mentioned earlier."

"What-" she craned her neck to see behind her.

"Don't look!" he hissed, pulling her to face forward again. "Just trust me. He's got a high-powered sniper rifle and he's waiting for us to stop moving so he can get in a good shot."

Jay shook her head slightly and focused on the street, her heart pounding. Vhetin kept his gaze fixed on the street ahead of him as he raised his voice to be heard again.

"I was thinking of having Brianna teach you about rifle marksmanship when we got back. Your accuracy with that DC-17 back on Coruscant left much to be desired. Has she mentioned that to you at any point?"

Jay glanced at him, looking for some clue of what to do. When she got none, she slowly replied, "Uh... yeah, she mentioned something when she picked me up for training at the _Oyu'baat_ the other day. I haven't trained very much with rifles, though. Pistols are my strong suit."

"I noticed."

They emerged out onto a busy street once more, with speeders flashing by so fast they blew Jay's hair to one side as they roared by.

"Now what?" she muttered to Vhetin. "We can't cross."

He just stared ahead. She got the feeling that he wasn't looking at the street, though. She knew he was consulting his HUD's 360-degree vision, the "eyes" in the back of his head that she'd wondered about for so long.

"Wait for it..." he whispered, pretending to look up and down the street, as if waiting for a safe moment to cross. "Wait for it..."

Jay watched him intently, sweat breaking out on her forehead as she saw him tense.

"Duck!" he suddenly shouted, shoving her aside.

A yellow blaster bolt screamed past the space her head had occupied just moments before, hitting the street and sending rock chips flying everywhere.

Jay scrambled to her feet, drawing her pistol and sighting in on the sniper. She saw a human male with spiked black hair and wearing a green-black camouflage vest standing on top of the small building directly behind them. Even as she watched, waiting for a good shot, he tossed the rifle aside and broke into a run for the roof's edge. She fired back at him twice as he leaped off the edge of the building and landed heavily in the sand.

At the sound of the shots, civilians screamed or broke and ran for cover. With loud mechanical screams, the speeders in the street swerved to miss fleeing civilians, one of them crashing into a building along the side of the road and bursting into flame. The sniper used all this to his advantage, disappearing into the chaos, drawing a pistol and firing back at them as he went.

Her partner drew his own blaster and took off after the shooter, shouting, "Don't let him out of your sight!"

They sprinted after the human, fighting their way through the panicked crowd. Jay dodged and ducked between screaming civilians while Vhetin, bigger and bulkier in his armor, had to resort to occasionally shoving people out of his way.

The sniper glanced back at them with eyes wide with terror and fired back at them again. Vhetin caught a blaster bolt in the chest, but he didn't slow. He just stumbled slightly and kept running. Jay heard a frustrated growl come over his helmet's vocoder.

They came to a four-way intersection that the sniper immediately sprinted through, not caring about the indignant shouts of speeder pilots that were forced to swerve and miss him.

"Keep on him!" Vhetin said. "I'm going to go to the left, see if I can cut him off!"

"Hurry!" she shouted back, running through the chaos and vaulting over the hood of a parked speeder. "This schutta's fast; I don't know how long I can keep up with him!"

Her partner disappeared down a side street, dashing through traffic faster than she thought possible.

She gritted her teeth and dodged a Nemoidian junk dealer who was screaming at the sniper to come back and clean up the mess he'd made of his stall as he'd smashed through it.

She caught the barest glimpse of the attacker's vest again, further away down the street. She saw a part in the crowd and skidded to a halt, sighting in with her pistol. After only a moment, however, a bulky Gammorean blocked the view of the sniper. She cursed, sprinting down the street again.

After a few more moments, she skidded to a halt at another four-way intersection bustling with civilians. This street was busy; there had to be at least a hundred beings hurrying about, paying no attention to a runaway sniper or the bounty hunters that followed him.

As she stopped, Vhetin appeared from a side alley, staring around wildly as he searched for his prey. He slowly lowered his rifle, staring down the street, searching for their attacker.

"Hey," she called, jogging up to her partner. She was breathing hard and she shook a strand of sweaty hair out of her eyes as she said, "I'm sorry; I lost him."

Vhetin nodded and said, "He's a fast bugger. See if you can spot him in the crowd."

Together, they looked around, searching for some sign of their sniper. He was too important to let get away. But there was no sign of his camo vest or his spiky black hair among the sea of different beings that crowded the street.

Suddenly, another blaster bolt slashed through the crowd. Jay reacted before thought could reach her mind; she dove into the sand and rolled to her knees, scanning the crowded intersection with narrowed eyes. The bolt screamed through the air she had occupied only moments before.

Vhetin hefted his rifle and growled, "Got him!"

Jay saw her attacker as well; some distance down the street, already reloading his pistol for another shot. He was perched on the durasteel emergency escape scaffolding mounted on the side of a building, high enough that he had a clear line of sight right to them.

Vhetin knelt in the sand, shifting into a more stable shooting position as he squeezed off three quick shots. People all around them screamed and dove for cover as the red blaster bolts bounced against the scaffolding's durasteel rail and exploded into sparks. The scaffolding's anchors broke free from the wall, and the entire contraption shook dangerously. He wobbled, then steadied himself with a hand against the wall and fired at Jay twice more.

Jay ducked two of the shots and cursed. _Why is he so intent on shooting _me? _Vhetin's the more dangerous one._

She staggered to her feet and fired twice at the sniper, but missed him. The bolts struck the building behind his head and he ducked as rock chips pattered against his back. After a moment, he looked around wildly and vaulted over the railing of the scaffolding, landing on the sand a meter below and taking off again.

"Damn it!" she yelled as she ejected the spent magazine of her blaster and fed in a fresh one.

Vhetin's gaze snapped toward her as he snapped, "We can't let him get away again. I'll go high, you go low!"

She nodded and took off into the crowd once more as he blasted into the air on his jetpack with a deafening roar and a spout of flame.

Jay dashed through the crowd, shoving beings aside and shouting, "Move! Move!"

She caught the barest glimpse of the sniper's camo vest as the shooter struggled through the crowd. As she fought her way closer to him, she glanced to her left, seeing Vhetin land hard on one of the buildings that lined the street. He rolled to his feet and began sprinting along the rooftops, keeping his gaze fixed on the sniper.

"Move!" Jay shouted, firing twice into the air to reinforce her point.

It worked, more or less; the crowd parted for her, but they also gave the sniper more room to maneuver. He skidded to a halt and sprinted down a deserted alley, disappearing from view. Jay cursed and sprinted faster, dashing down the alleyway after him. She caught the barest glimpse of Vhetin leaping across the alley rooftops, keeping pace with the sniper. His dark armor stood out against the bright blue sky as he leaped from one side of the alley all the way to the other in an incredibly long leap, landing again on a left-side building's roof and barely even slowing.

Up ahead, the sniper sprinted through an open door, disappearing from view. Jay lowered her head and sprinted as fast as she could through the door, entering what looked like a droid repair shop. The room beyond was filled with racks full of old droid parts, and sparks showered from the ceiling as repair droids went about their duties. Two Sullustans stared at her with their wide black eyes, gibbering at her in a language she barely understood.

She leveled her pistol at one of them and snapped, "Where'd he go? The guy in the camouflage?"

The Sullustan started and pointed down a dark corridor near the front of the building. Jay headed in that direction, careful not to slip on the stone floor that was slicked with lubricator oil. She spotted the sniper just as he ducked outside once more. She ran after him, gritting her teeth and thinking, _This guy just won't quit._

She emerged into another grimy alleyway, the sand turned to mud in places because of the stale or dirty water residents had tossed out their windows. Obviously not the cleanest of places, but maybe the fleeing sniper would slip in the mud.

She saw Vhetin keeping up with them above; jumping from rooftop to rooftop and desperately trying to get in a shot with his rifle.

"Keep it up!" he cried as he front-flipped over a ledge in front of him before continuing to dash after their attacker. "We're wearing him down!"

She saw that the sniper was indeed tiring, clutching at a stitch in his side as he stumbled along the alley. He was extremely fast, but he was no match for a Mandalorian and a fledgling bounty huntress who'd trained for months for just this occurrence. The human tripped over a waste can, spilling its contents across the alley, and stumbled on gasping for breath.

Jay fired at the man's feet, making him falter even more. Slowly, she began gaining on him, her face a mask of determination.

As he sprinted along the rooftops, Vhetin grasped a horizontal pole set up for drying laundry and swung off of it, using the momentum to launch himself down to the street below. He kicked out with his feet, catching the sniper in the stomach as he fell.

The sniper was knocked clean off his feet, flying a few feet through the air and slamming hard into the wall with a shout. He rolled through the sand for a few feet before crumpling into a heap. He didn't move again save for a pathetic attempt to rise to his hands and knees. Then he fell again, unconscious.

Vhetin sprawled into the sand as well, skidding through the dirt and slamming back-first against the wall. He let out a quiet gasp and didn't move again.

Jay skidded to a halt next to her partner and knelt next to him. They may have worn down the sniper, but her partner was her first priority. It was one of the first lessons she'd learned while training: your partner came before anything. Without someone watching your back, you were as good as dead.

Vhetin was lying on the sandy ground, breathing hard as he rolled over onto his stomach with a groan. His armor was smeared with sand and mud and his gray flight suit was torn and dirty.

"Are you all right?" she said, putting a hand on his armored shoulder.

He grunted as he sat up, flinching visibly and holding his arm. She saw dark blood leaking from between his fingers. "I'm good."

"You're bleeding," she said.

"I just skinned my... well, _everything_ with that stunt," he said, standing with a groan, "and I think I ripped open that vibroblade wound from Coruscant."

"Are you all right?" she repeated.

"I've had worse. I'll be fine."

She helped him up onto his feet and he growled, "But we got the _di'kut_. Let's see why he was so intent on taking you out."

He knelt next to the man and slapped his face. The man groaned and stirred but didn't wake. Vhetin slapped him again, harder this time, and said, "Wakey wakey _sheb_head. We've got questions for you."

"Ahh, my leg!" The man groaned, clutching at his leg, which was dark with blood. "I think it's broken."

"That's the least of your worries right now," Vhetin growled. "We want answers _now_."

"Kriff you," the man replied.

"We know you're working for Kassh; you don't need to tell us about that."

"Kriff you," he repeated.

"Who hired you? And why were you so intent on killing my partner?"

"_Kriff_... _you_," he gasped a third time.

Vhetin grasped the man's camo jacket and hauled him up. "You're going to tell me exactly what I want to know, or I'll make your life so karking miserable-"

Vhetin broke off as the man's jacket fell open, revealing some kind of orange jumpsuit beneath. He stared at it for a moment, then let out a disgusted sigh and dropped the man. He stepped back, running a hand across the smooth dome of his helmet and letting out a long sigh.

"What's the problem?" Jay asked, stepping after him as he turned away.

"This schutta?" Vhetin said, nodding toward the unconscious sniper. "He's part of Massano's militia."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Coming Closer

Jay cast cautious glances along the dark street, wary of any followers. Vhetin strode ahead of her, keeping his rifle muzzle firmly planted in the sniper's back.

"So let me get this straight," Jay murmured, keeping an eye on the area behind them. "This guy is one of Massano's militia troopers, hailed as a hero throughout Anchorhead, but he decides that's not good enough for him? So he goes to Kassh - sacrificing his reputation as a public defender - for _more_ credits? Why would someone do that?"

"It's the nature of sentient beings," Vhetin said darkly, shoving the trooper forward again. The man groaned as he limped along on his uninjured leg. His other leg had been hastily set with medical supplies Vhetin had liberated from a nearby clinic.

Vhetin triple-checked his rifle's ammo counter and elaborated, "All beings who achieve wealth or power want more. I defy you to find a single exception in galactic history."

"The Jedi," Jay replied quickly. It was the obvious answer; the half-mythical knights had been selfless heroes, valiantly defending the Old Republic from any of those who wished to harm her. At least until the end of the Clone Wars, when they'd been revealed to be traitors who had been using their influence to manipulate the Republic and the Separatists to further their own power.

Even as a young child, however, Jay had never truly believed that explanation. She thought that the then-Chancellor Palpatine had needed a reason to consolidate absolute power, and the Jedi were the only beings left standing in his way. Pinning the entire war on their heads had just been a clever-but-cruel political machination.

But Vhetin shook his head. "The only reason the Jedi didn't try to achieve more - whether they knew it or not - was because they already _had_ it all.

"For a group of selfless defenders of Justice, sworn to own little and love nothing, look at how much they actually _did_ possess," he said. "They had a huge temple, taller than any other building on Coruscant, easily recognizable across the entire galaxy, as their personal home. I've been there you know. It may not be pretty any more, but in its day, it must have been magnificent. Pillars stretching hundreds of feet to a ceiling you can barely see above your head, tapestries and carvings across every wall, spacious quarters that would make a Hutt jealous..."

He shoved the sniper ahead of him again as he continued, "And that's just where they _lived_. They also had an unlimited budget allowance from the Republic, they were allowed to wield the most deadly melee weapons that the galaxy has ever seen, they were allowed to commandeer any vehicle, building, or starship they felt like, and-"

"But," Jay pointed out, "they only used their power in times of need. When people were in danger."

"True," Vhetin admitted. "But just because you use your assets for good doesn't necessarily mean you _deserve_ them."

He shrugged. "I'm just stating what I've seen. I'm not trying to put down the Jedi, but their motives were very suspicious to a simple merc like me. After all, it's just instinct for me to look for things like this."

"You'd prefer the motives of the Sith?"

He shook his head. "No. Darth Vader has proved that the Sith aren't any better for the galaxy. But the Sith saw the corruption of the Jedi, and decided to actually _do _something about it. And what happened? The Jedi initiated a twenty-five-thousand-year holy war against them."

"And how do you know so much about the Jedi?" Jay asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow. "Have you ever met one personally?"

He chuckled quietly. "Maybe."

She was about to ask what he meant by that when he said, "Look, the Jedi are just an example; all I'm saying is that no one is impervious to greed and selfishness. And the larger the money or fame or what have you, the worse it gets."

"'Power corrupts," Jay said, quoting an old Corellian saying, "'and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'"

He nodded. "Exactly."

"Kriff the both of you," the sniper muttered. "I didn't leave because I was _greedy_. Massano's a pain in the ass, plain and simple."

"Watch your mouth," Vhetin growled, jabbing the man in the back with his blaster. "I was one of the ones who convinced him to take the job as militia leader. Without him, this cesspit would be crawling with Jabba the Hutt's thugs."

The sniper sniffed in irritation, but said no more.

They walked for a long time in silence. Jay kept throwing glances over her shoulder, feeling as if she was being watched. The sensation sent shivers down her spine, and she felt cold even through the dry heat of Tatooine's air.

"How much farther?" she asked after fifteen minutes of silence.

Vhetin seemed to consult his helmet's HUD, then said, "We're close. Five minutes and we'll enter the new militia territory. After that, we've just got another couple hundred meters."

"And then what?"

"You'll probably be fine," Vhetin said, "because the militia isn't much for attacking strangers unless attacked first."

"But you're not going to be as welcome?" Jay guessed.

Vhetin nodded and flexed his grip on his rifle, looking slightly nervous. It had obviously been some time since he'd done anything like this.

"Is there any other way to do this?" she asked, noticing his discomfort.

He shook his head. "Unfortunately no. We need backup to take Kassh's base, and Massano's the only ally we're going to find in Anchorhead. It just might take a little... persuasion."

"I'd like a little more information," Jay said. "How did you and Brianna end up forming this militia anyway? You're a bounty hunter, not a community servant."

"It's a long story," he said.

"We've got time."

He threw a glance at her, then shrugged and said, "You've got a point."

He hesitated, then said, "Five years ago, Bri and I were hunting a bounty together here in Anchorhead, an Ithorian big-game hunter who had a penchant for taking down _really_ big animals and getting quite a few beings killed in the process. He came to Anchorhead hoping to claim the head of a Krayt Dragon and got a 'sponsorship' as it were from Jabba the Hutt.

"Bri and I hunted him for a few days, but the corruption in the city was everywhere; the entire city was under Jabba's control, and every lead we had suddenly turned into a dead end. So Brianna decided to do something about it."

He stared straight ahead of him, lost in the memory as he continued, "She set up an audition stand, posing as a big-game hunter herself who was looking for hired help to get to the Krayt Dragon before the Ithorian did. She had me plant rumors that it was a cover for a liberation force for the city. It worked, and those who were sick of the corruption came to Bri and me to help out. We hunted down Jabba's larger contacts and businesses within the city - discreetly of course - and drove them out.

"When we were eventually able to capture the Ithorian, we knew that the moment we left the city would fall back into its old ways. So we chose the bravest, most well liked of our volunteers and gave him the job as militia leader. His name was Quoren Massano."

He gestured to the city around him. "We spent months cleaning up the city and the militia only continued our work after we left. Bri and I actually lived here for a while, but after we caught the Ithorian, we were... forced to leave."

Jay knew that that wasn't the whole truth; the pause at the end had been a half-second too long to hide it. But she had long since abandoned hope of convincing him to tell her the whole truth. If he didn't trust her enough yet, that was his problem.

"And then you came back to Anchorhead," Jay said slowly, "blew up their base, and shot Massano?"

"With a stun round," Vhetin added. "Details are important."

"Why?" she asked him.

He was silent for a long time, then said, "I had my orders. And he was standing in the way of the completion of those orders."

"So you just shot him?"

"With a _stun round_," he repeated. "It was only because of me that my old partner didn't kill him."

"Hm," Jay said, frowning thoughtfully.

The sniper finally spoke. He nodded ahead of them, to a simple stone building ahead of them marked with a bright neon sign reading _Starheart Cantina_.

"That's the new militia headquarters. Massano set up there after the last time you came through, bucket-head."

Jay wasn't overly excited to trust the word of a man who'd tried to kill her, so she turned to her partner and said, "Is this where Brianna's coordinates lead?"

Vhetin swatted the sniper across the back of the head because of his use of the derogatory slur "bucket-head" and replied, "That's what my HUD says. It's worth checking out either way."

As they stepped closer, Vhetin murmured, "Remember what I said earlier."

Jay nodded. "And if we're attacked?"

"Get out of there as fast as you can," he replied.

"But-"

"If they're going to attack me, they're going to attack in force. You're good with a pistol, Jay, but you won't be able to fend them all off."

"And what are you going to do? Attack them again?"

He was silent for entirely too long.

"If I have to."

She let out a long sigh and said, "Whatever. I'm not making any promises."

They approached the cantina, and a hulking, dark-skinned bouncer with intricate-looking tattoos across his face stepped up to meet them.

"Halt," he said, holding up a hand. "No weapons are allowed inside the-"

He broke off as he saw exactly who he was speaking to, and he narrowed his dark eyes.

"Vhetin," the man growled.

Vhetin inclined his head slightly. "Varitalis. I wish I could say it was nice to see you again, but-"

The huge man interrupted. "I wouldn't give a damn anyway. Turn around and leave before someone shoots you."

"I need to speak with Massano."

Varitalis let out a booming bark of laughter. "Yeah, you'd like that wouldn't you? Last warning; get out of here before I decide not to be so kind."

"It's urgent."

The bouncer reached for his blaster, sighing, "You asked for-"

"It's about Kassh," Vhetin interrupted.

That stopped him; the huge man hesitated, staring at Vhetin's expressionless faceplate as if he could see the Mandalorian's face through the tinted T-visor.

"You're lying."

"I'm a Mandalorian," Vhetin said, holding the huge man's gaze. "Lies are forbidden to my kind."

The huge bouncer seemed to fight with himself on whether or not to believe him. Jay couldn't blame him; after all if she was in his place - given all she'd learned about Vhetin's last trip to Anchorhead - she wouldn't believe a word he said either.

After a time, the huge man narrowed his eyes and gestured to the sniper. "What are you doing with the Kid? Ransoming him?"

"He tried to kill us."

"Good for him."

Vhetin sighed and said, "I ran his face through an I.D scanner. He's involved with Kassh's Midnight Ultraviolet branch here in Anchorhead. That, and he confessed to us himself after a little... persuasion."

That was an embellishment, Jay knew. All they'd had to do was threaten to leave the sniper to die in the alley and he'd started to spill his guts.

"That's... That's not true!" the sniper said, speaking for the first time. "I didn't say anything!"

"_I went to Kassh a couple months ago,_" came the sniper's disembodied voice, hissing with static as the sound spilled from the recorder Vhetin held in his hand. "_He said... he said he wanted a mole inside the Militia, and that he'd pay me five thousand credits a month if I just passed him information on any upcoming Militia raids on him or any of his competitors. A-a few months after that, he ordered me to start sabotaging equipment. And after that-_"

"Believe me and I'll shut it down," Vhetin said, shaking the recorder. "I have time; this goes on for a while"

"It's enough." The bouncer held up a massive hand, scowling deeply at the sniper. He fidgeted as Varitalis glared at him, shifting his feet.

The bouncer eventually sighed loudly and jerked his head behind him. "Go on in. I can't promise what Massano will do to you, but I'll tell him what's going on."

"Thanks," Vhetin said, nodding.

"Kriff off."

Vhetin, Jay, and their hostage stepped into the large cantina, both bounty hunters scanning the room within. It had become something of a reflex for Jay since the cantina on Coruscant.

The room within was large, remarkably plush for downtown Anchorhead, and lit with rotating pinkish-red light. There were tables all across the room, most of which were occupied. There mostly humans and Twi'leks, with the occasional other species enjoying their lunch break. As far as Jay could tell, there was nothing to show that the bar was a front for the militia.

Varitalis brushed past them and disappeared through a dark red door without a word. After a moment, two orange-armored Twi'leks left the room beyond and flanked the door, their hands on the blasters holstered on their belts.

"So..." Jay said conversationally. "That went well."

"Keep your eyes open. If Massano's in a combative mood, I don't want you getting in the middle of it."

"I can take care of myself," she said, frowning at him. "If Massano's all you say he is, you should be worried for yourself."

"I'm not the one who was almost sniped by a militiaman on Kassh's payroll, and who almost took a turbolaser blast to the chest before that. I can't help but think that your luck is running out."

She patted her pistol. "That's why I carry this. It's not just for show, you know."

He chuckled slightly, then fell silent, waiting for Varitalis to return. They had only waited for several minutes when the dark-skinned bouncer reappeared and said, "Massano will see you. Just don't try anything funny."

Vhetin nodded and gestured for Jay to bring the prisoner. She followed her partner, yanking hard on the stun cuffs that bound the sniper's wrists. He yelped in pain and walked faster.

They stepped through the dark red door into a considerably less clean hallway. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of the rough stone like the outside of the cantina.

Varitalis turned to them at another door a few meters down the short hall.

"You will disarm here," he said. "Both of you."

Vhetin immediately began unloading his weapons; his saber-staff came first, followed by his pistols, his twin lightsaber hilts, the two _beskar _knives sheathed across the back of his belt, the extra blade down his right boot, his rocket-equipped jetpack, his flamethrower, his kneepad dart launchers, his whipcord thrower, the thermal detonators hidden in his belt-pouches, and the rest of the various and sundry secondary weapons that Jay counted at fifteen before she lost interest.

She herself carried only her pistol and a small-but-effective vibroblade sheathed on her belt. She handed the weapons over more willingly than at Bloody Dawn headquarters - the last time she'd been asked to walk defenseless into unknown territory. She was certain, however, that Massano wasn't a ruthless, bloodthirsty crime lord like Sekha. Whatever past he had with Vhetin, he had been put in charge of the militia for a good reason.

But as soon as Vhetin took one step into the room beyond, there was a sharp _clang_, and Vhetin staggered out of sight, holding his head.

Jay jumped and instinctively reached for her pistol, forgetting that she had turned it in to the guards less than a minute before. So, she hurried into the room to see a tall, muscular man stepping toward Vhetin with a large durasteel pipe. She debated on whether or not to do something; she had been taught a little hand-to-hand combat, but without a weapon, she didn't know how helpful she would be.

She took a step forward, but stopped as Vhetin murmured, "Massano, I-"

The muscular man with the pipe hit him across the faceplate again with the pipe hard enough to snap Vhetin's head to the side. The Mandalorian sprawled to the ground, holding his head with a groan.

"You have _no idea_ how long I've waited for this moment," the man growled with a grin. "Get up."

"You don't want to do this."

"_Get up_, you worthless piece of-" He grabbed Vhetin by the throat and hauled him to his feet again. But no sooner had he pulled Vhetin to face-level than the bounty hunter suddenly sprang into motion. He ripped himself from Massano's grasp, ducked the inevitable swing at his head, and grasped the hand the held the metal pipe. He brought the arm down on his knee, twisting it until Massano cried out in pain and dropped the pipe. Vhetin followed up with a blow to the gut, then an uppercut under the chin that sent Massano sprawling against the back wall. The man's eyes rolled back into his head as he slowly slid down the stone wall.

Two of the guards stepped in to help the militia leader. Vhetin turned to them and held up a hand, saying, "Wait-"

It was too late. They drew vibroblades and jumped at him. He ducked the first swipe, but he was still disoriented from the pipe blows to the head. He wobbled slightly, and one of the vibroblades was suddenly buried to the hilt in his shoulder.

Jay started as her partner cried out in pain, then jumped forward to help. She wrapped her forearms around the closest trooper's neck in a powerful chokehold. The man sputtered and drove an elbow into her ribs hard enough to make her gasp in pain. He broke free of her hold and backhanded her across the face. She staggered back and lost her balance, hitting her head against the wall.

"Back off, little girl," the trooper growled.

She stared at him, fury beginning to burn in her eyes.

_Little girl?_ she thought as she put her hand on a chair to regain her balance. _Little girl?_

As the trooper turned back to Vhetin, who was managing to fend off the other trooper with his single good arm, Jay grasped the chair and raised it over her head. Before the trooper could attack Vhetin again, she brought it down hard on his head. It connected with a surprisingly loud _crack_, and splintered into pieces. The trooper's head lolled, and he collapsed into a heap. She picked up one of the pieces and moved to help Vhetin when a powerful voice boomed, "_Stop!_"

Everyone in the room - Vhetin and Jay included - stopped and turned to face the speaker.

Massano slowly stood, shaking long brown hair out of his eyes and spitting out a mouthful of blood. He gestured to the remaining trooper and said, "That's enough."

The trooper glared at Vhetin, but stepped back. Vhetin watched the man go, then reached up to the vibroblade still protruding from his shoulder and yanked it out. He examined the bloody green blade for a moment before tossing it to the floor disgustedly.

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't the reception I expected," Vhetin said, his voice trembling with suppressed rage and pain, "but I didn't come here to start a fight with you, Massano."

The militia leader chuckled darkly and spat out another mouthful of blood. "You sure as hell finished it."

Now that the room was relatively still, Jay was finally able to get a good look at the militia leader. She had been very interested in what the man was truly like, after all she'd heard about him.

He was maybe thirty, thirty-five, with long black hair that fell to his shoulders. He was handsome enough to catch Jay's attention, with dark eyes, a square jaw, and a long scar over his right eye. With a tall and muscular frame, he wore a dark brown nerf-leather jacket and black combat pants. She paused as she saw a series of yellow stripes up his right pant leg.

That was a Corellian Bloodstripe, awarded only for acts of extreme daring and valor. It was one of the greatest honors bestowed on her homeworld. Jay hadn't seen many awarded in her time, so it was either fake, or Massano was a force to be reckoned with. She was willing to bet on the latter.

She began to feel a small flush of admiration for the man, even though he had almost brained her partner with a durasteel pipe only moments before.

Vhetin shook his head, slapping the side of his helmet. Blood was running freely down his arm, dripping onto the floor beneath him. "My ears are still ringing," he muttered. "Of all the weapons you're certified with, Massano, you had to use a metal pipe to drive your point home?"

Massano wiped blood from his forehead and shook hair out of his face. "It worked, didn't it?"

Vhetin regained his composure, and his T-visored gaze fell on Massano.

"So," he said. "Where do we go from here?"

"I have no kriffing idea," Massano said. "I'd hardly call us 'even' now."

"I'm not expecting you to."

"Good," the militia leader growled. He straightened and stared at them. "I'll at least listen to why you're here," he said. "Then I'll decide whether or not to have you shot."

"Fair enough."

Vhetin nodded to Varitalis, who stepped forward and said, "Apparently Vhetin and his partner apprehended a crime lord's operative sent to kill them."

_Sent to kill _me_, _Jay mentally corrected him. _He wasn't shooting at Vhetin for some reason._

"So?" Massano said, folding his arms across his large chest. "That's not our problem."

"It's the Kid."

Massano blinked, uncomprehending. He stared at the floor for a few moments in confusion, then looked up at the bouncer and said, "_What?_"

"It's one of your militia troopers," Vhetin said. "And he works for a crime lord named Kassh. A crime lord we've been hired to bring in."

"That... that's not possible. The _Kid_? No way."

"My contacts tell me that Kassh set up a base somewhere in Anchorhead a few months ago," Vhetin said quietly. "Ever since then, he's slowly been corrupting the city again, right under your nose."

"If you don't believe us," Jay added, "listen to him."

She jerked her head at the sniper, who had been standing quietly in the corner, guarded by the two large Twi'lek sentries. Massano stared at the Kid for a long moment before growling, "Well? Is it true?"

"I-I-"

"Is it _true_?" Massano pressed.

"Yes!" the sniper cried. "Yes, yes it is!"

Massano's expression was positively livid. Jay didn't think she'd ever seen someone more furious in her entire life.

"Why?" he said, his voice deadly quiet.

"I... I needed the credits! I mean, it's really great bein' hero of the city and all, but it isn't exactly pay well and-"

Massano silenced him with a powerful backhand slap across the face. The Kid cried out in pain and fell silent.

The militia leader paced back and forth through the room, running a hand through his long hair. He gathered his thoughts for a moment, then turned back to the sniper, who was whimpering quietly.

"What did you want with these two?" he said, gesturing to Vhetin and Jay.

The sniper glanced between the two bounty hunters fearfully, then said, "K-Kassh gave me a call a few days ago. Said that there were people after him, and that they were coming to Anchorhead."

The sniper gulped and continued, "He gave me orders to kill on sight. He contacted me _personally,_ man; he _never_ does that. I figured there'd be some serious digits on the paycheck involved, so I-"

"So you decided to slot us the first chance you got," Vhetin finished. "I expected Kassh to send his lackeys to do his dirty work."

"N-no," the sniper stuttered. "I wasn't supposed to kill you."

"Who then?" Massano growled. The sniper stared at him fearfully, then nodded to Jay.

"Just her."

All eyes were suddenly on Jay; even Vhetin was staring at her in confusion. She glanced around self-consciously, then stared at the sniper and said, "What? What do you mean by that?"

"M-my orders were to leave the Mandalorian alive. B-but the woman w-who traveled with him... Kassh ordered me to kill her."

Everyone turned back to the sniper, listening intently. Only Vhetin and Massano continued to stare at her for a moment before turning their gazes slowly back to the sniper.

"T-that's it, I swear!" the Kid whimpered. "I mean, apart from giving him information on the occasional militia raid, I swear I didn't do anything else!"

Massano glared at the trooper, then sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose wearily. "Kid," he said slowly, "I don't care how much you did or didn't do. You stabbed us all in the back."

The Kid's eyes slowly widened in fear, obviously thinking Massano was going to blast him there. But the militia leader had something else in mind.

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and said, "Get out."

"W-what?"

"Get out now," Massano said, his voice quiet, "and don't come back. _Ever_."

"But..." the sniper licked his lips nervously, "w-where am I going to go?"

"I don't give a kriff," Massano replied coldly. "But I'd get out of Anchorhead if I were you. I'm giving you five hours, then I'm releasing a warrant for your arrest. If you can get away before then you're a free man as long as we don't catch you. If not, you'll spend a life sentence on Oovo IV for aiding and abetting an organized criminal syndicate."

The sniper's eyes widened with terror as Massano glanced at a chrono along one wall and said, "Time starts... now. Get moving."

The Kid stared at him for a split-second, then turned and disappeared through the door, hands still bound by active stun cuffs.

After he'd gone, Massano nodded to the two orange-armored Twi'leks.

"Follow him," he said. "Make sure he gets out of the city. If he tries to lay low and hide, persuade him otherwise."

The two silently saluted and left the room. Massano watched them go, then turned to his troopers.

"Get this mess cleaned up," he said, gesturing to the room. The troopers nodded and began to clean up the wreckage of the broken chair and help the fallen trooper - who was still unconscious - back to his feet.

"You two," Massano said, beckoning the bounty hunters, "come with me. You've bought yourself five minutes. After that, I shoot you where you stand."

* * *

><p>Massano led them back out into the cantina, where he motioned for them to take a seat at the bar. He told the bartender, a chubby human male, to give him a mug of Corellian ale. As the tender set the drink in front of him, Massano rubbed his forehead and turned to Vhetin.<p>

"Why in the _hell_ did you come back? I thought you'd done the smart thing and decided never to come near Anchorhead again."

"I need your help," Vhetin said blankly. "We can't take down Kassh without the militia's support."

Massano glared at him. "So you come here, set up the militia, almost _destroy_ the militia months later, then a couple years after _that-_"

Vhetin held up a hand, interrupting him. "I know how it sounds. If it helps, I regret what I did here. But I had my orders."

"Kriff your orders," Massano snapped. "You put fifteen militia troopers in the medcenter and killed three others. _I _had to break the news to their families. Damn it, Vhetin, what was I supposed to tell them? That their fathers or sons or husbands were killed by the guy who picked them for the militia in the _first_ place?"

"Don't," Vhetin said forcefully, shaking his head and staring at the bartop. "Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"What did you tell them?" Jay asked Massano.

The militia leader glanced at her, then shrugged and took a swig of his ale. "I told them the truth; that their loved ones were killed by an Imperial strike force who was intent on butchering one of our protectees."

"The guy had been responsible for smuggling thousands of kilos of spice. He ruined more lives by delivering and distributing that _osik_ than I did by taking him down."

Massano snorted. "Tell that to the widows and orphans you made out of the innocent civilians here."

"We're here to put some of that right," Jay said. "We have information that you need to know about."

"Keep your information," Massano grunted, taking another long draft of ale.

"You need to hear this," Vhetin pressed. "We have evidence to support the fact that a bigwig criminal kingpin named Kassh has come to Anchorhead. He's already corrupted your militia; next thing he's going to do is move in on you personally."

"I've never heard of this Kassh."

"He's big in the Coruscant Underworld," Vhetin explained. "That's a bit removed from your sector of the galaxy."

Massano grunted. "So what would he want here?"

Vhetin shrugged. "An established black market, easy proximity to Jabba the Hutt for assassination attempts, little-to-no Imperial presence; what criminal could ask for more?"

Massano grunted as he swigged at his ale.

"This guy is cruel, ruthless, and will let nothing and no one stand in his way, Massano," Vhetin said. "He's not going to stop until every last member of your militia is either dead or driven out."

"Is that a threat?"

"No. But it'll cost lives if you don't listen to us."

"Like the last time I didn't listen to you?" Massano said. "It wasn't that different back then. 'Cept you had a pretty Imperial Wheel right there-" he pointed to Vhetin's helmet forehead, "-and you had no qualms about shooting innocent men to get what you wanted."

Vhetin stared at him for a long time, holding the militia leader's gaze. Even after Massano had looked away, Vhetin still stared at him. Jay inwardly cringed on her partner's behalf; that last remark had obviously hurt.

She sighed and decided to take the reins.

"We're not the bad guys here," she said. "We're trying to stop this guy before anyone else gets hurt."

Massano let out a dark chuckle. "And my uncle is the Emperor. Sorry, but after the last time you roared through here, Vhetin, I find it hard to believe you're just here to do what's best for us."

He sipped at his drink, then turned to them and said, "Your five minutes are up. Leave now before I have you arrested."

"Massano," Jay said, "You need to listen to us. We-"

"Don't tell me what I 'need' to do," Massano interrupted. "I already spared your lives; I suggest you leave before I change my mind."

"But-"

"Let it go, Jay," Vhetin said with a sigh, standing from the table and turning toward the door. "Massano's right; I don't belong here."

"No, I'm _not_ going to let it go," Jay said heatedly. "And neither should you."

He half-turned back to her. "What?"

She turned back to Massano, looking at the man with disbelief. After all Vhetin had told her about Massano - how he was a good, brave, _honorable_ man - the bastard was just going to send them away? She'd busted her ass chasing a Midnight Ultraviolet-financed sniper through Anchorhead, being shot at the whole way, for _this_?

She placed her hands on the bartop and leaning close to the militia leader. She scowled as she said, "I'm sure you don't know or care who I am, but I'm going to tell you anyway. My name is Jay Kolta. I was born on Corellia, just like you were. And I was betrayed by the people I thought were my friends as well. They threw me in _prison_ for a crime I never committed, beat me and interrogated me for no reason.

"I would still be there today," she snapped, turning and gesturing to Vhetin, "if _he _hadn't have decided to free me and help me escape."

"Jay-," Vhetin murmured in protest, but she ignored him.

"He didn't know me," she said to Massano. "He didn't know about my past, but he rescued me anyway. It was a completely selfless decision. And he's saved my life more than once since then as well."

She turned back to the militia leader. "I don't particularly care what he did the last time he was here; that was in the past. Ever since then, he's struggled to make up for the things he did while in the Empire. And now he comes here, offering you information that will save hundreds of your militiamen and you turn him away? How _dare_ you!"

Massano didn't even look at her. He just stared straight ahead, taking another long swig of his drink.

"Jay," Vhetin said softly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We should go."

She shook her arm out of his grip and leaned closer to Massano.

"Trust me," she whispered. "We're here for a good reason. And if you just sit back on your ass and do nothing, Anchorhead will _burn _before the year's end."

With that, she turned and stormed out of the cantina. The cantina door slammed shut behind her, loud enough to make several beings glance up.

Vhetin stared at Massano for a moment, then turned and followed her without another word. He found her leaning up against the cantina wall, staring out at the street, her face the perfect image of livid frustration.

"I appreciate what you did in there," Vhetin said quietly, "but you can't argue with Massano. He's stubborn as... well, as a Corellian. He's like you in a lot of ways."

"I'm nothing like him," she snapped. "If someone came into my city hoping to kill and profit from it, I'd drive the bastard _out_. Not sit on my ass and refuse to help because of an old feud with someone who's trying to _help_."

"Everything that Massano said in there was true," Vhetin pointed out.

"I don't care," she replied. "Everything _I_ said was true, too. And he still does nothing."

Vhetin smiled beneath his helmet and gestured for her to follow him as he set off down the street. Her loyalty was touching, but there was really nothing they could do.

"We just need to find a different way to bring Kassh down." He jerked his head in the direction of the spaceport and said, "Come on. Let's head back to _Void_ and see if Tarron has any other information for us."

They had walked about three blocks before Vhetin said, "I guess the nexu's out of the bag, though."

She glanced at him curiously. "About what?"

"About how I used to work for the Empire," he said. He grimaced as he glanced at her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Oh," she said, sounding less surprised than he thought she would be. "That's okay. Everyone's allowed to keep secrets."

"But you have to admit; it was kind of a whopper. I shouldn't have kept it a secret for so long."

She shrugged. "I don't hold it against you. We all make stupid mistakes. You're no different."

He chuckled. Yeah, he supposed she was right.

A hailing tone sounded from his belt, and he pulled his comlink. A transmitter number popped up on his helmet's HUD, and he answered the call with, "Farnmir, nice to finally hear from you. Have you found Kassh's base?"

"Not as of yet," came the bounty huntress' voice. "I found something much better."

"What would that be?" Jay said inquisitively, staring at the comlink.

"Well..." Farnmir paused, then said, "it looks like Kassh has been a busy little boy. He's already got a racketeering operation set up. I'm seeing a business here, calling itself uh... well, I can't read it from here. But the sign's got a big-ass splintered diamond logo, right on the front."

"The Midnight Ultraviolet insignia," Vhetin said, scowling.

"He's barely even trying to hide it," Farnmir said, sounding amused. "He's getting cocky."

"This far from Coruscant, not many people know about his business," Vhetin said. "It's a perfect place to branch out."

"Do you think Kassh is there?" Jay asked.

"Mmm, no. But you'll find this interesting; I've been watching this place for an hour or so now, and I've seen at least ten militia troopers going in and out."

"What?" Vhetin asked. "Did you get pictures?"

"Hell yeah," Farnmir answered. "And you're going to love this; one of the pictures shows one of his troopers tucking a nice fat pouch of credits into his jacket. Kassh is paying off the militia right under your Massano guy's nose."

Jay clapped her hands, a triumphant look on her face. "We got him!"

With that, she turned and dashed back toward the cantina. Vhetin started after her, saying, "Wait, Jay-"

She threw open the door and sprinted over to Massano, who was still sitting at the bar with another drink. He glanced up at her as she approached, seeming surprised that she was back.

"I thought I told you-"

She interrupted him, slapping her hands down on the bartop and saying, "We've got something to show you. You're coming with us."

* * *

><p>The four of them stood on a rooftop a few doors down from Kassh's business; Vhetin, staring at the base with an unwavering gaze; Jay, on her knees and looking through a pair of macrobinoculars; Kalyn Farnmir, tapping something into her arm-mounted datapad; and Massano, gazing between the holopics he'd been provided and the militia troopers making regular stops at Kassh's front business with unbridled fury.<p>

"You can glare all you want," Farnmir murmured, still staring at the hologram thrown up by her datapad, "it's not going to make it go away."

"I told you Kassh was a serious threat," Jay said, looking back at the militia leader. "He's already corrupted half of your militia in the few months he's been here."

Massano shook his head and turned away in disgust. "I don't believe it. I don't kriffing believe it."

"It looks like they're posing as a restaurant," Vhetin murmured, his helmet's flag-like rangefinder sliding down to provide him with a better view of the building. "Lots of people going in and out and no one pays any attention, unable to pick out one customer from another... Smart."

"Smart?" Massano said, narrowing his eyes as he spun back to them. "_Smart?_ Those are _my men_ he's messing with down there. I've _bled_ for those sons of bitches!"

"Calm down," Farnmir said. "Not all your men are on Kassh's payroll."

"But who _aren't_?" Massano cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "I don't know which of my men I can trust now!"

"Who was the Kid?" Vhetin said suddenly.

Everyone turned to look at him, and Massano said, "What?"

Vhetin turned to face them and said, "Who was the Kid? A new recruit?"

"What? Yeah... yeah, we picked him up a couple months ago. He helped us storm a warehouse that belonged to a bunch of gunrunners. He-"

"I don't need to know his life story," Vhetin said, raising a hand to silence him. "So he's not one of the original militia members Brianna and I screened?"

"No. He's not."

Vhetin gestured to the holopics that were clenched in Massano's hand. "And the rest of the militia members in those pictures. Are they all newer members?"

Massano shuffled through the holopics. After a time, he tossed them to the ground and said, "Yeah, yeah, they're new members. Where are you going with this?"

He didn't answer, just turned to Farnmir and said, "Do you have the security tap up and running?"

She nodded, holding out her arm and showing them a floating viewscreen showing the street below. "It's a good thing your guys set up security cameras around the city, Massano, otherwise our job would be a lot tougher."

Farnmir had been searching through the security footage of the past week, having her shipboard computer pick out any instances where militia members came into view.

"Notice a pattern?" Vhetin said as the hologram played through each instance a militia trooper entered the restaurant. "None of them are the older militia troopers. In fact-"

He nodded to Farnmir, who sped through the recording until Varitalis, the cantina bouncer/militia trooper, passed into view of the camera. When he came near Kassh's front business, he didn't even glance at it; just kept walking.

"Your security cameras recorded four different instances of your veteran troopers passing by the restaurant. None of them stopped."

"So?" Massano said. "That just means those four just didn't go in the building at that time."

"Actually, no," Farnmir said. "I've been monitoring comm channels, and every corrupt militia trooper checked in at the restaurant. What would happen every time is..."

She displayed the image of one of the troopers being approached by a Rodian door greeter. They would exchange a few words, then the trooper would be led inside.

"...the greeter talks to them for a bit, and he always manages to say 'we have always appreciated your business,' and then the trooper emerges exactly fifteen minutes later and goes about his business. Even those few corrupt militia troopers who aren't in the mood for payoffs at the time are approached by the greeter, just in case."

Farnmir displayed the image of the Rodian walking up to a militia leader and saying in his reedy voice, "_Would you care to come in for a refreshment? We at the Sandtrap Restaurant have always appreciated your business._"

The trooper shrugged the Rodian's sucker-tipped fingers off his shoulder and said, "_Not now, thanks. Maybe later tonight I'll stop by for a drink or two._"

Farnmir paused the recording and said, "We could have stared at it for days and found nothing if we didn't find that one kid tucking credits into his coat."

"So what?" Massano said. "What's the point to all this?"

"Your veteran militia trooper," Farnmir explained, showing the holo of Varitalis again, "not only _doesn't_ stop, but also isn't approached by the Rodian. He doesn't even spare your trooper a second glance."

Farnmir shut down the hologram and rested her hands on her hips. "I've been in this business a long time," she said. "And that Rodian knows to leave those troopers alone, that they're too risky to approach with a payoff deal. Kassh knows that they're too loyal to you; that they'd come straight to you with the information."

Massano nodded, satisfied. "Okay. That makes sense, I guess. So what do I do?"

"Gather your veteran militia troopers," Vhetin said. "If we're going to stop Kassh, we need to go as soon as possible. We'll brief your guys on the way; that way, even if some of your veterans are on Kassh's payroll, they won't have any way to tell him."

Jay nodded agreeing with the plan. "We should probably sweep them for bugs on the way as well. Just in case they're transmitting our location."

Massano nodded, a steely look of determination coming into his gaze as he said, "Okay. I'll get my guys together and prep a speeder to get us out to this Kassh guy's base. You have the coordinates?"

Farnmir nodded. "I'll send them to you once we're underway."

"Then we'll be ready by sundown. Meet us at the Starheart by then, and we'll head out." The militia leader nodded and strode down the stairs in the side of the building, disappearing onto the street below. After a moment Farnmir followed him, saying, "I'm gonna go double-check those coordinates, just in case. I'll be in touch."

Vhetin nodded and returned to scrutinizing the restaurant. Jay lowered the binoculars and glanced over at him.

"Do you think this will work? We're taking a pretty big gamble with these troopers."

"Normally," Vhetin replied, "I would say that I vouch for those men; now I'm not so sure. With Kassh, anything is possible. "

"Hm," Jay said, frowning. "You didn't really answer my question."

"I don't know, Jay," Vhetin sighed. "I just don't know."

"We should probably get back to _Void_," Jay said, taking one last look at the restaurant. "Maybe Tarron will have some miracle information for us. If not, we can still get some rest before we have to move in on Kassh's base."

"Look on the bright side," Vhetin said. "We're almost done."

"Yeah," Jay said, standing and following him down the stairs. "Almost done."

* * *

><p><strong>Kassh's base, Dune Sea, Tatooine, later that night<strong>

Vhetin and Kalyn Farnmir snuck along the ridge in a crouched run, careful not to be spotted. They were deep in enemy territory now, and any slip up would ruin the element of surprise. They were shielded from unfriendly eyes by a rocky ridge to their left, a crumbling cliff of broken rock and shale that stretched above their heads for several meters.

"Do you think Kassh knows we're here?" Vhetin whispered as they passed by a huge limestone boulder.

Farnmir shook her head, pressing her back against the rocky ridge and keeping her hefty sniper rifle pointed toward the ground. "No. If he did, he'd have security forces crawling all over us in a heartbeat. What's your motion tracker show?"

He checked his HUD's tracker, a medium-sized black circle in the top left corner of his helmet's holographic readout. Friendlies showed up as green dots, enemies as red. He saw with some measure of relief that there were no enemy contacts within a hundred meters.

Good. He'd come too far to be stopped now.

"It's clear," he reported, nodding in confirmation. "We're good."

She nodded back, slung the rifle over her shoulder, and began climbing the five-meter ridge, careful not to dislodge any of the loose pebbles that dotted the rocky slope. Vhetin followed her, climbing just as cautiously and keeping steady handholds. His foot slipped once, dislodging a small shower of rocks to the ground below.

Farnmir spun above him and hissed, "_Careful_. Do you want to be slotted by a sniper?"

"Won't happen again," he muttered with clenched feet as he moved his foot more carefully.

They silently clambered up onto the relatively flat top of the ridge and were rewarded with a good view of the depression further on and the decommissioned Republic Military compound that rested within.

There were four spotlight towers set up on each corner of the compound, each manned with two guards. There was a huge Jawa Sandcrawler half-buried in the sand along the eastern edge of the perimeter, obviously a few centuries old. As Vhetin zoomed closer, he saw that there were three different sniper barricades erected along the top of the once-mobile building. There were other barricades constructed from old, wrecked speeder bikes set a few meters away from the compound perimeter. The barricades were wrapped with razor-sharp bundles of wire, and had gaps raggedly cut away to allow for sniper positions.

There was also a long, thirty-meter stretch of unguarded sand, barren save for more razor wire rolls arranged in a rough checkerboard pattern. It was an obstacle course, meant to slow down intruders and make them easy targets for snipers.

The compound itself rested on a thick duracrete pad and consisted of a cluster of variously sized buildings all connected to a large rectangular command center. In all, the defenses were of a familiar design that Vhetin knew well from past experience. It was the enemy forces that worried him.

Vhetin settled down onto his stomach in the sand next to Farnmir, who shouldered her sniper rifle and sighted in on the base. He narrowed his eyes and his HUD zoomed in on the base as well, and he studied the area carefully.

"What do you think?" Farnmir whispered to him. "How many guards do you count?"

Vhetin switched his HUD to penetration scan and saw a sizable force of beings clustered inside the compound showing up on his display as blobs of reddish-orange against the blue of their surroundings.

"I count twenty, maybe thirty inside the compound, and fifteen guards outside. Plus... nine snipers that I can see."

He looked over at Farnmir and said, "We're pretty heavily outnumbered."

She nodded, still squinting through the sniper scope. "But," she said slowly, adjusting her position slightly, "we still have surprise on our side. And these aren't exactly top-grade mercenaries. They look like local thugs to me."

They both pressed themselves close to the ground as one of the spotlight beams passed within two meters of them. It hesitated near their position, long enough to make Vhetin worry, then slowly moved on.

"This isn't going to be easy," Vhetin murmured after the light had passed. Farnmir nodded silently, pulling the rifle back and sliding back down the ridge. Vhetin stayed a few moments more, recording everything he could of the base. When his HUD displayed a message box telling him that his gear had finished its inspection of the area, he pulled a vid scanner and set it up in the sand next to him. He buried it in sand for camouflage, careful to keep the recorder eye uncovered, then slowly backed down the ridge as well.

Jay was waiting below with Massano and the militia troopers. They all glanced up as Vhetin and Farnmir approached.

"What's the situation up there?" Jay asked, moving forward as Vhetin slid down the slope, all previous caution forgotten now that they knew for sure their distance from the enemy.

He stepped up next to his partner and folded his arms across his chest as Farnmir explained, "From what I can see, Kassh is dug in deeper than we anticipated. We counted fifteen heavily armed guards patrolling the outermost perimeter of the compound. There are sniper towers with spotlights, and there's an old Jawa Sandcrawler in the area that they're using for a sniper platform as well. He's taken all the high ground."

Massano grunted and said, "What about ground forces? And where exactly is Kassh?"

Farnmir knelt and drew a rough rectangle in the sand. "This is the main building. It looks like a-"

Vhetin cleared his throat and interrupted, "Excuse me, but I've got a better layout of the base."

He tossed down a holoprojector, which projected a three-dimensional scan of the compound and its troops into the air a few millimeters above the sandy ground. The tiny holographic soldiers marched about slowly, jumping slightly back and forth as the hologram sputtered. The hologram showed a collection of all seven buildings, linked around the single rectangular command center.

At Massano's curious glance, Vhetin explained, "I set up a holo-scanner along the ridge while we were scouting. The scanner sends out a hyper-velocity penetrating scan of an area and transmits it to this projector. The image refreshes itself every quarter-second, so it's as accurate as we're going to get."

One of the militia troopers clapped Massano on the shoulder and said, "You gotta keep up with the times, sir, elseways we're never gonna make a good militia."

Another trooper shoved the first in the back and said, "Yeah, as if you had any clue what that thing was either."

"Hey," Massano said, "stay focused. We've got a job to do here."

Farnmir, meanwhile, was studying the readout of the base intently. She narrowed her eyes and rubbed a gloved hand along the stubble on her head.

"What are you seeing?" Vhetin asked her, cocking his head.

She traced her finger along the perimeter of the holographic compound till she stopped at the line of wrecked speeders and the snipers that were dug in there.

"It looks like they've got razor-wire barricades set up along this area all around the compound," she said, "but the snipers are concentrated on the west - our side - since there's no settlements for hundreds of miles in any other direction."

"Why not just attack from the other directions then?" Massano asked.

Vhetin shook his head. "No good. Kassh had mined the desert for fifty meters in every other direction."

"Oh."

"But," Farnmir continued, "if we can cover the thirty-meter stretch of land between here and there, those wrecked speeders should provide good cover. We can set up some sharpshooters of our own and take out those spotlight towers while we're at it."

"Wait, wait, wait," Jay said suddenly, kneeling next to Farnmir. She pointed at the gap as well, staring at the rolls of razor wire that had been arranged in a checkerboard pattern across the sand. "That's not going to work. I know this pattern."

"You do?" Massano asked, raising an eyebrow. "From where?"

"From my days as a fighter pilot with the Empire," she explained. "Long story. But see those rolls of razor wire? Those aren't just for decoration. They're to mark where they've buried mines."

Several members of the militia began murmuring among themselves and cursing. Vhetin heard one of them mutter, "So much for that plan."

Jay hastily added, "We should be okay if we can just jump over the razor wire. But if we come under fire, those snipers are going to be aiming for the mines."

Vhetin stared at the hologram for a moment, then said, "Let me worry about the snipers. I'll head in first, neutralize the perimeter guard, and see if I can't deactivate the triggers on those mines. You'll still be screwed if one of them gets shot, but it'll be much safer."

Farnmir nodded. "Okay, but there's still the problem of the snipers on the Sandcrawler."

Vhetin gestured to himself. "Seriously? _Mandalorian,_ remember? Jetpacks are part of our kit requirements."

Jay shook her head. "No, your pack is too loud. If you use it to get up there, it'll alert the guards."

"You have a better suggestion?"

"Yeah," she said with a bit of a smile. "How good are you at rappelling from of a moving vehicle?"

"Good enough," he said. "I've jumped out of dropships more than once."

She nodded, remembering one of the entries she'd read in the journal she'd stolen, and murmured, "I'd imagine."

Massano let out a low chuckle, shooting a glance Vhetin's way, and Farnmir glanced at him, then back at the flickering blue holodisplay.

Vhetin winced slightly at the barely concealed reference to his work with the Empire, and Jay blushed, as if she hadn't meant to say that. Vhetin didn't blame her; it had been a slip of the tongue, nothing more.

"Um..." Jay blinked several times and gathered her thoughts. "Anyway, if we take one of the ship in low with the engines on low-heat, we should be able to sneak past the perimeter defenses."

She turned Farnmir and asked, "Does the _Tough Luck_ have any stealth hardware?"

Farnmir silently shook her head, still staring at the holodisplay.

Jay looked up at Vhetin with a hopeful look. "Does _Void_ have anything?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. I can think of a few systems."

"Like what?"

He shrugged, not entirely comfortable with revealing his ship's many secret capabilities. But it was critical to the mission, so he said, "My ship has audio dampers installed into the engine cores that can make _Void_ run completely silent for up to an hour at a time. She makes no sound, even to something as big as an Auditory Superscanner."

Farnmir nodded, looking impressed. "That'll work."

Vhetin knelt in front of the hologram as well and said, "You obviously have a plan, Jay. Do you care to share with the rest of us?"

* * *

><p><strong>Later<strong>

Vhetin dangled from a rappelling rope that hung out from the docking bay of his ship. The cold night wind whistled around him, buffeting him wildly back and forth. His eyes squinted against the rushing wind and airborne sand, even though it was blocked by his helmet's faceplate, and his _kama_ flew out behind him as he rushed through the night air.

He saw the huge Sandcrawler swiftly approaching, lit from below by powerful spotlights. He could also just make out the forms of the snipers, lying in prone position and scanning the area with their rifles. Vhetin, with his black-gray armor, was all but invisible against the dark sky, and his ship glided through the air with little more than a quiet rumble from the engines. As they approached, the sound died completely, and the darkness around him was silent save for the wind rushing past his helmet's audio receptors.

_"We'll need an eye in the sky," Jay had said. "Someone who can provide air support and keep an eye out for Kassh at the same time."_

_ "I'll take that job," Farnmir spoke up suddenly, her gaze still on the hologram, obviously memorizing every detail she could. "I can also fly Vhetin's ship in and drop him off."_

He would have commed Farnmir and told her to slow the hell down, but this close to the compound their comm channels were being monitored. So he had no choice but to hang there, silently enduring the ride as he swung back and forth through the dark air.

The ship silently rocketed closer to the Sandcrawler, slowing a little late comfort. He was whipped back and forth, having to twist and contort to avoid smashing into the side of the Sandcrawler and alerting the snipers.

He was slowly hoisted higher along the dark side of the old Jawa vehicle. He got his feet under him again and placed his boots silently on the top of the Sandcrawler. The snipers didn't hear him; their attention was focused elsewhere.

He turned to the sky and motioned that he was clear. He tossed the rappelling line away and the barely visible shadow of his ship silently blasted away, nothing but a wraith in in the night.

Vhetin turned to the unsuspecting snipers, creeping toward them cautiously and quietly pulling his specially made silenced pistol.

One of the snipers must have heard his cautious bootfalls, for the human turned and managed to gasp, "Wha-"

Vhetin quickly and quietly dispatched all three snipers with three shots from his silenced pistol. The humans slumped silently over their rifles, killed quickly and painlessly.

Vhetin didn't pause to survey his handiwork, immediately stepping up to the edge of the Sandcrawler. The sandy ground was at least a hundred feet below him. He gritted his teeth and stepped off the edge. He fell for a few heart-wrenchingly long moments before landing hard, tucking himself into a tight roll to shed excess momentum, and sprawling faceplate-first in the sand.

He grunted as a sharp spike of pain lanced through his knee. He rolled himself onto his back and grasped it with both hands, grimacing at the pain.

_Yep,_ he thought as he felt the damage. _Definitely dislocated. Good thing that's easy to fix..._

He turned off his helmet's external audio speakers and grasped his throbbing knee tightly. With a sharp twist and a pull, he slipped the bone back into its socket with a wet _snick_. He arched his back and shouted out loud as pain coursed through his body like wildfire, his voice thankfully muted within his armor.

He collapsed into a heap, shaking from the adrenaline, his knee throbbing. After only a moment to regain his composure, he grunted as he pushed himself back to his knees and clambered to his feet, wobbling slightly before regaining his balance. The pain was fading, already nothing but a dull throbbing in his knee. He shook off the pain and silently moved forward, pressing his back against a supply crate. He reloaded his pistol and peeked out from behind cover.

_"Once I'm down there," he had said, "I won't be able to send out messages to you guys until I'm finished with all the snipers. They'll be monitoring the comm channels."_

_ "How long do you need?" Jay had asked him._

_ He had quickly calculated. There were nine snipers total - three on the Sandcrawler and six by the barricades. Eliminating all of them wasn't impossible, but it would take some time._

_ "Five minutes," he'd said. "Tops."_

_ Farnmir had nodded. "If we don't hear from you after six, the rest of us will know the plan is a bust and bug out. Make sure you make the deadline, or this whole plan goes up in smoke."_

He checked the chronometer on his HUD display. He had a little less than two and a half minutes left. Plenty of time as long as-

"Hey," came a voice behind him. "Who are you?"

He spun and saw a human boy, no older than nineteen, standing in front of him. He quickly moved his pistol away; he had no desire to shoot a kid.

He wracked his mind furiously for a plausible excuse. He mimicked a strong Corellian accent and drawled, "Ah, well ya see, the boss-man brought yours truly on as a las' minute addition, yuh know? Big-shot merc from C'rellia like me was such a good choice, he jus' couldn't pass up the chance. I jus' got here a couple minutes ago."

The boy narrowed his eyes and tightened the grip on the tiny field pistol on his belt. "I don't know. I'm not sure I believe you."

This obviously wasn't going to work; he needed a different tactic. So he grabbed the kid by the back of the head and pulled him close, whispering, "You want to get killed, kid? Keep talking."

He shoved the kid back and looked around the corner of the crate again. He glanced back at the boy and muttered, "Things are going to get real ugly around here in less than two minutes. Get out while you can. Raise the alarm, and I'll hunt you down and kill you myself."

When the kid still didn't move, Vhetin discharged his silenced pistol at his feet. The kid jumped and stumbled back, turning and running. After a few moments, he disappeared into the darkness.

Vhetin turned back to the other snipers, tensed, then calmly walked out from behind the crate. One of the snipers heard him approaching and turned towards him.

"Hey," the sniper called as Vhetin drew nearer. "You that new guy from Mos Espa? He's-"

Vhetin shot him in the head, and the sniper sputtered and slumped. The other snipers gasped in surprise and tried vainly to bring their unwieldy rifles to bear on him. He quickly dealt with all six opponents, barely flinching as he pulled the trigger again and again. By the time the last sniper fell twitching to the ground, his timer read almost a single minute.

He spotted a boxy comm unit near the barricade that the snipers had been using to listen in on chatter around the base, and he crushed it beneath one boot heel. Once done, he raised his gauntlet to mouth-level and activated his personal comlink.

"This is Haroon-Twelve," he said, using the code name in case other enemies were listening in on the transmission. "Targets neutralized."

"Copy that," Jay's voice said over the speakers in his helmet. "Get to work deactivating the mines, and we'll be right there."

Vhetin nodded to himself and set off at a jog for the tower that housed the security console. It was guarded by two of Kassh's troopers, armed with rifles and sonic pistols. Vhetin quickly scaled the ladder to the tower. Before he swung up into the tower, he raised his pistol and fired up through the wooden trapdoor in the floor. He shot one of the troopers through the foot, and the man yelled in pain.

Vhetin flipped up over the rail of the tower and caught the other in the face with his boot heels. The trooper grunted in pain and surprise and fell back over the edge of the tower, plummeting to the ground below. He hit with a quiet _crunch_ that made Vhetin wince inwardly.

Meanwhile the other trooper had raised his rifle, still balancing on a single uninjured foot, and leveled it at Vhetin.

Vhetin grabbed the barrel of the rifle and swung it away from him. He twisted the rifle to the right, bracing his hand on the troopers' arm and breaking it cleanly with a hard wrench. The trooper was about to scream again, but Vhetin grabbed him by the sides of the head and drove the man's face into his unwounded knee. Skull and armored kneecap connected with a _crack_, and the trooper's eyes rolled back in his head.

Vhetin suddenly stood in silence in the security tower, breathing heavily. The entire fight had lasted less than five seconds.

He cracked his neck slowly and turned to the security console.

_"What other defenses do they have set up?" Massano had said, gesturing to the hologram with a frown._

_ "Just some mid-level anti-infantry turrets," Farnmir had reported. "Vhetin can shut those down while he's deactivating the mines."_

_ Jay had looked up at him, worry evident in her gaze. "You've got to be quick, Vhetin, otherwise the rest of us aren't going to know what's going on, and we'll abort the mission."_

_ He'd nodded agreement. "I know. I'll get those mines down in time."_

He inserted a datachip into the port on the security console and unleashed a powerful hacking program, courtesy of Jaing Skirata back on Mandalore. The program raced through the security system, targeting the safeties on the minefield and the turret controls at Vhetin's command. Within moments, power to the base's security systems had been disabled. The lights near his position flickered slightly as the excess power was diverted to their systems, but nothing more happened. Good.

He activated his comm again. "Haroon-Twelve here. The minefield is down. If that's not a red carpet..."

"Acknowledged," Massano's deep voice replied. "We're heading to your position."

Vhetin saw shadowy figures sneaking across the barren gap from the ridge, heading straight for his position. He hopped nimbly down from the four-meter tower and strode toward them as they approached the row of wrecked speeders.

Jay and Massano slowed to a halt, crouching behind the speeders and covering the area with their pistol and rifle, respectively. After a moment Massano motioned his militia forward and the rest of the troopers took cover behind the barricades.

"What's the situation?" Massano asked.

"All the snipers and turrets are neutralized," Vhetin reported, "and power to the security systems will be tied up for years before they can clean their system cache."

"They won't have the time," the militia leader growled. "We're finishing off these schuttas tonight."

Vhetin turned toward the building. There had been no sign that Kassh's thugs knew they were about to come under attack, and that was making him nervous.

"Let's step up the plan. Massano, come with me while your militia secures the area."

Massano nodded and turned to his troops. "Set up a secure perimeter around this compound. Any of Kassh's thugs that escape us are going to be flushed straight to you. Can you handle that?"

One of the troopers grinned and said, "Sure thing boss. We'll even wrap 'em up nice and put bows on their heads. It'll be like your birthday all over again."

The rest of the militia chuckled and nodded agreement. Massano nodded back encouragingly before moving to follow Vhetin.

"And don't forget about Kassh," Vhetin reminded them as they spread apart. "Don't kill any Twi'leks. You may be here to get him off your planet, but Jay and I are here to take him in alive."

There were scattered murmurs of approval, a few nodded heads; not exactly the enthusiasm he'd been looking for.

"Hawkbat?" he said over the comm, tapping a finger against the transmitter mounted beneath the rangefinder on his helmet. "Are you still airborne?"

"Yeah," came Kalyn Farnmir's reply. "And I'm ready for a quick pickup when you have Kassh in custody."

"Good," Vhetin said. "Stay on station and provide us with any air support you can."

"Copy that."

Jay stepped up behind him and tapped his shoulder, saying, "I'm headed to secure the transport lot. Wish me luck, huh?"

He turned to her and nodded. "Yeah. Be careful. You've had more than your fair share of close calls already on this mission, and Kassh seems to have something special planned for you. If you need help, just call me on comms and I'll be there as fast as possible."

She smiled nervously. "Thanks, Stripes."

She turned and jogged away towards the transport lot, pulling her Verpine pistol as she did. Vhetin watched her go, then headed off to his own assignment; securing the large command center with Massano. He unclipped his saber-staff from his jetpack and flexed his fists around the smooth shaft of the weapon in anticipation.

One last hurdle, and Kassh would be down for good.

* * *

><p>Jay stood in the dark, her eyes carefully scanning the surrounding area. It her job to make sure Kassh - or any of his thugs, for that matter - didn't make a run for the transports and escape. If he did, she would stop him.<p>

_"What next, Jay?" Vhetin had asked her._

_ She had let out a long, nervous breath. "I wish you weren't taking this so seriously. I'm the rookie here, remember?"_

_ "Just tell us your plan," Vhetin had said patiently._

_ "Well," she'd said, wracking her mind to assemble her ideas into a coherent plan. "Once the militia attacks the compound, Kassh will probably do one of two things; tuck himself down in a well-guarded area with enough supplies and ammo to withstand our assault for hours, or run for a transport."_

_ Vhetin had nodded slowly, looking impressed. She had blushed slightly and continued, "So we'll have to split up while we're on the ground. One of us will have to secure any vehicles or transports while the other does the legwork to chase Kassh down._

_ "There's a good side and bad side to both positions," she'd explained, thinking through her plan carefully. "Whoever's inside the compound will be open to more fire, but they'll have the element of surprise on their side. Whoever's guarding the transport lot won't have as much fire, but anyone trying to head that direction will be cautious of any other attackers."_

_ She turned to her partner. "Any preferences, Stripes?"_

_ Vhetin had nodded. "I'm going after Kassh. I've got a score to settle with him."_

_ "I'll secure the transport lot, then," she'd replied._

She heard a Tusken Raider howl in the distance and she shuddered at the haunting, barking sound. She looked around herself and thought, _Hurry up, Vhetin. This place gives me the creeps._

The transport lot was a large square of flat rock and sand, situated a few meters behind the compound's easternmost building. The large Tatooine moons bathed the transport lot in eerie light, throwing menacing shadows into the darkness.

There were several cargo speeders and a single space-worthy freighter, all painted a dull red and bearing the insignia of what Jay presumed was a local shipping company; Kassh probably used the company as a front for his activities in Anchorhead.

Jay shuddered again and activated her comm, listening in on everyone else's chatter. The sound of other people speaking to each other was a slight comfort, making her feel less alone and defenseless.

"Haroon-Twelve," came Vhetin's voice, tinged with a trace of military formality, "calling Bantha-Thirty-Eight. I'm at the front door. Is your entrance clear?"

"Affirmative," Massano replied, just as formal. "Placing breach charge in five."

"Copy that," Vhetin said. "Polus-Fifteen, are you clear?"

Massano's lieutenant, dug in with the rest of the militia, said, "Yes sirs. Perimeter is established and we're ready to catch whatever poor sods you flush our way."

Jay tensed as she envisioned Vhetin and Massano, preparing to shake the stingerbee nest and alert Kassh and his troops to the imminent attack. She imagined Vhetin flanking the entrance, placing a circular det charge in the center of the door, and performing all the actions on which she'd drilled for months. A small part of her felt a twinge of resentment that she was stuck guarding the transports while Vhetin got the _exciting _job. But she quickly shook that off and concentrated on the job at hand. After all, it was her duty to ensure that Kassh didn't escape them again; that was easily the most important job of anyone here.

She remembered what Vhetin had said just before they'd moved out to execute their plan.

_As they broke up, preparing for their final assault, Vhetin had pulled her off to one side._

_ "What is it?" she'd asked. "If this is about the plan-"_

_ "It isn't," Vhetin had interrupted. "I'm actually very impressed with your plan. I can see that I've taught you well."_

_ She had nodded, flushing slightly at the praise. _

_ "What I want to talk to you about is your part in all of this. Are you sure you can handle this?"_

_ "Securing the vehicles?" she had replied. "Yeah. I actually think I got the easy part-"_

_ He interrupted again. "I'm talking about storming the base. This isn't going to be like Rhen Var, where you're fighting in self-defense. We'll actually be in a coordinated combat situation."_

_ He had gestured to the pistol on her hip. "Are you certain that you can pull the trigger if necessary? To kill if pressed?"_

_ She had nodded, putting a hand on the blaster and saying, "I think I can. If it means completing the mission."_

_ He had stared at her for a heartbeat through that faceless T-visor, then had nodded slowly. "Okay. I believe you. But if you get into trouble, I may not be there to help you for some time. You're going to have to use your weapon and shoot to kill."_

_ "'In a combat situation, you need to be able to do anything necessary to survive,'" she had said, quoting one of his many lessons back at him. "'Even if you have to do something terrible.'"_

_ She knew these things were easier said than done, but there was only one way for her to learn. And she knew that if push came to shove, she would definitely pull the trigger. There was too much at stake here; not just the bounty reward, but her _life_._

_ He had nodded, obviously satisfied, and clapped her on the shoulder encouragingly. "I think you'll do fine. Just be careful. And if you see Kassh, drop him with a stun round before he can get away again."_

_ Farnmir stepped up to them and looked between the two._

_ "Sorry to interrupt," she said, "but our window of opportunity is going to be pretty small. We need to get moving."_

_ Vhetin nodded and turned to follow her back to his ship. He looked back at Jay once more and said, "Good luck, Jay."_

_ She nodded, still nervous. "Yeah. Same to you, Stripes."_

She jumped as she heard the muffled _boom_ of a door breach charge exploding. The sound split the silence around her, echoing through the night. After a moment, a second explosion rang through the night air as Massano's door charge blew.

They had now begun their attack. There was no going back now.

After a few moments, it went silent again, and everything was still once more.

Jay frowned in confusion. She'd thought there would be... _more. _The screams of blaster bolts ringing through the air, the flashes of weapon discharges, the neon blue blaze of Vhetin's saber-staff. But there was nothing that she could see or hear; just darkness and silence.

_That's not right,_ she thought with growing unease. _Did something go wrong?_

She shifted her weight listening for any chatter over the comm. If something had gone wrong, she told herself, Vhetin would have said something. There was nothing but silence over the comm channels."

"Haroon-Twelve, this is Hawkbat-twenty," Farnmir said suddenly over the comm, making Jay jump. "I'm picking up movement around the back of the base. What's going on down there?"

The comm channel hissed static, then Vhetin's quiet voice said, "He's not here."

Jay's eyes widened in disbelief. "_What?_"

"Kassh!" Vhetin snapped. He sounded furious. "He's not here! The center room has a bunch of droids dressed like his thugs! _That's_ what my scan picked up earlier!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Jay said, frowning to herself. "Durge said he'd be here, and there's evidence of Midnight Ultraviolet activity in the area. If he's not here, then where-?"

Suddenly, spotlights snapped on around the entire compound, flooding the area with blinding white light. Jay threw an arm in front of her eyes and let out a shout of surprise. She staggered back, taking cover from the light behind a bulky cargo speeder, blinking and rubbing her watering eyes. Her comm was suddenly filled with chatter.

"Enemy contacts! Enemy contacts!"

"Polus-Three, get down!"

"No shot! No shot!"

What the-"

Then Massano's powerful voice cut through the rest as he bellowed, "_Ambush!_"

* * *

><p><strong>Two minutes earlier<strong>

The cold night air seemed to dig into Vhetin skin, even through his flak vest and heated power systems. It wasn't as bad as the deadly chill of Rhen Var, but it was irritating all the same.

_Shab, I hate cold_, he thought to himself with a scowl.

He kept his head low as he crept through the collection of buildings, making sure to stay away from windows, doors - anywhere someone could jump out at him. His heart was pounding in his ears, adrenaline making his breath come in quiet gasps. He always got like this during the final push of a hunting mission, when everything was on the line.

"Bantha-Thirty-Eight here," Massano whispered over the comm. "I've almost reached the back entrance."

"Copy that," Vhetin replied. "Polus squad, come in. How're you guys doing back there?"

"No sign of movement," came the response from the militia troopers.

Vhetin nodded, satisfied that things were unfolding according to plan. He skirted around a spotlight that threw up a beam of blue-white light and flexed his grip on his saber-staff, his eyes darting around the area. Unless the schematics that were displayed in the upper right corner of his HUD were incorrect, he should be approaching the front entrance door.

As if on cue, he rounded a corner and the blue-lit door came into view, the lights humming quietly as he approached.

"Haroon-Twelve," he said, "calling Bantha-Thirty-Eight. I'm at the front door. Is your entrance clear?"

"Affirmative," Massano replied over comms. "Placing breach charge in five."

"Copy that," Vhetin said. He blinked his eyelids at a flashing icon on his HUD and switched comm channels.

"Polus-Fifteen, are you clear?" he asked.

"Yes sirs," Massano's lieutenant said. "Perimeter is established and we're ready to catch whatever poor sods you flush our way."

Vhetin pressed his back against the edge of the door, like he'd done so many times before. He made sure to glance up and scan the area for enemy contacts as he pulled the det charge from his belt and double-checked its settings. Normally, he'd have someone else ready to toss in a grenade or watching his six while he set the det charge, but one didn't always have such luxuries.

He slowly peeled off the adhesive tape from the bottom of the det charge, tossing it aside as he tensed, ready for action.

He let out a sharp breath as he slapped the breach charge on the door and turned away from the blast. The charge blew with an echoing _pow _and the door slid open with a scream of tortured metal. He ignited his saber-staff and threw himself into the room beyond. He heard Massano's breach charge explode soon after as he raised is saber in anticipation of an attack.

None came.

All that lay beyond was a dark, empty room, illuminated by the blue light of his ignited saber. There was no sign of movement, no sign that someone else had beaten them to the prize, no sign that anyone had entered this building in weeks. There were no troopers, no Kassh, no... _anything_. Not even any furniture or computer terminals to show that it was even a functioning area of the base.

"What the-" he muttered to himself as he frowned in confusion.

What the hell was going on? His instincts screamed that something wasn't right, that something was out of place. But he couldn't be sure, so he raised his staff and slowly crept deeper into the darkness of the building.

"Massano," he said into his comm. "What've you got?"

"Nothing," the militia leader replied. "Nothing but empty hallways. What the hell is happening in here?"

"I don't know," Vhetin said quietly. "But I've got a bad feeling about this."

He slowly crept through the empty halls, saber held at the ready. The synthetic hum of the blade seemed to split the silence, filling his ears, drowning out all other sounds.

He turned a corner and found another empty hallway. A brightly-lit door down the hall blocked the entrance to the room beyond.

If the schematics and scanning equipment were functioning correctly, all of Kassh's men were clustered in there.

He stepped up to the door and pressed his audio receptor close to it, like a helmetless person pressing an ear close to hear the room beyond. He boosted audio reception to maximum, but didn't hear anything beyond.

He stepped back with a scowl as he pulled another breach charge from the pack on his belt. If there was anyone in there, he couldn't hear it. The door must have had soundproofing tech built into it.

"Haroon-Twelve here," he reported as he pulled the adhesive tape from the back of the charge. "I'm at the door to the central room. Planting breach charge now."

"Same here,"

He pressed the charge to the center of the door and pressed himself against the wall a few feet away. He slowly counted to three, then pressed a key on his gauntlet and the charge detonated with a dull _boom. _The doors were blown right off their hinges, flying into the room beyond with a deafening clatter.

He ignited his saber-staff once more and jumped into the room, whirling the weapon in front of him as he slashed at the first being that he saw. The thug's arm hit the ground and twitched as Vhetin stepped over it and planted a boot in another human's face.

Massano's door breach detonated, blowing the doors open. The militia leader rolled into the room, opening up with his rifle with a shout of rage. All around him, Kassh's thugs fell where they stood, clutching at their chests or arms or legs.

Vhetin cut another thug's arms off, using the momentum to bring him to face another. As he pivoted, his _kama_ whirling out around him as he spun, he slashed horizontally and sliced another thug in half. The top half of the man fell to the ground with a shower of sparks as Vhetin slashed upward at another-

He stopped mid-attack and stared back at the disemboweled thug. Massano stopped as well, staring at what was left of the dead human.

Sparks were showering from the thug's disembodied torso, the edges of his clothing glowing red-hot from the blade of pure energy that had ended his life.

_Sparks? What the-_

Vhetin walked up to another of Kassh's goons and yanked off the man's hood, revealing angular metal plates and wide visual receptors that glowed yellow as electricity surged through its system. Vhetin stared at it, feeling an icy-cold vein of fury snake through his mind.

A droid.

A kriffing_ droid._

He turned to the thug standing next to the droid and pulled off his hat. Another droid head was revealed. Vhetin threw the mask to the floor as sudden understanding dawned on him.

_We've been played._

He walked through the room, yanking off mask after mask and revealing nothing but droids. As he looked back, he saw that every one of the thugs he'd slain were in fact mechanical units, programmed to endlessly amble around the room.

"Haroon-Twelve, this is Hawkbat-Twenty," Farnmir said suddenly over the comm. "I'm picking up movement around the back of the base. What's going on down there?"

Vhetin shook his head in disgust and said, "He's not here."

Jay's voice came over the comm. "_What?_"

"Kassh!" Vhetin snapped as he shoved over the nearest droid with sudden violence. "He's not here! The center room has a bunch of droids dressed like his thugs! _That's_ what my scan picked up earlier!"

"That doesn't make any sense," Jay said. "Durge said he'd be here, and there's evidence of Midnight Ultraviolet activity in the area. If he's not here, then where-?"

Suddenly all the lights in the facility snapped on. Vhetin spun his saber-staff as no fewer than ten heavily-armed thugs - _real_ thugs this time, not droids - stormed through the door, yelling, "Hands in the air!"

Massano bellowed, "_Ambush!_" and immediately opened fire. Vhetin grasped his saber-staff in both hands and jumped at the thugs, slashing and punching at anything that moved. Red blaster bolts ricocheted off the walls and floor with loud _pings_ and _pows_, and the discharge from rifles filled the air with ionized smoke.

Vhetin ducked under a vicious punch from a thug and brought his knee into the man's gut, driving him to his knees. He caught the man in the face with an armored boot as he slashed sideways and decapitated another.

As the rest of the thugs fell back for a second assault, crowding around the door, Vhetin lowered his staff and simply seared them all with a blast from his flamethrower. They screamed and beat at the flames, some falling to the floor and desperately rolling to put out the roaring flames.

Massano was keeping no fewer than six of Kassh's goons at bay with little more than his rifle and his bare hands. Vhetin started forward to help him, but something stepped in his way. He bounced off it hard enough to send him sprawling onto his back. Looking up in confusion, he saw a huge human male with dark tattoos all over his face.

"Wow," Vhetin groaned as he slowly got to his feet. "You are _really _big."

The man roared like an animal and beat his chest, shouting at Vhetin to bring it on. The Mandalorian stared at the huge man and sighed, then cut his head off.

As the giant's headless body slumped to the ground, Vhetin shook his head and muttered, "_Aruetii_ stupidity. Doesn't matter how big you are, you're still no match for a lightsaber."

Then he darted forward to help Massano. Within a few seconds, the fight within the building was over. All of Kassh's thugs were sprawled across the floor, either unconscious or dead.

Massano was breathing hard as he keyed open a comm channel and barked, "Polus-Fifteen, come in. Come in!"

"Yeah, yeah, we hear you Thirty-Eight!" came the voice of Massano's lieutenant. "We're pinned down at the barricades! Someone kindly get off their ass to save ours!"

"I've got them," Jay said. "I can make it to the barricades if I run."

"No," Vhetin said forcefully as he jogged for the exit. "There's every chance that Kassh is still here somewhere. We can't afford to lose him now. Stay where you are."

Jay cursed, and Vhetin heard the sound of several close-proximity blaster bolts over the comm. "Okay, but... _damn it_, just get those troopers unstuck so some of them can help me out over here!"

"I'm on it," Vhetin said, dashing out into the open air once more. He heard the sound of blaster fire in the direction of the barricades and sprinted in that direction, the blue blade of his saber lighting up the darkness around him as fifteen more of Kassh's thugs came into view. But they weren't alone.

Standing with them were no less than three hulking robotic forms, arm cannons raised, shoulder-mounted grenade launchers blazing.

Darktroopers.

Vhetin slid to a halt, hesitating ever so slightly. He'd seen the destruction those droids could cause; a single unit could wade through an entire city population in hours, leaving behind no witnesses. And if Kassh had hacked these units and downloaded his own destruction protocols...

He didn't have time to worry about that. So he just ran forward, holding out his saber-staff as he dashed past and cutting a single unit in half. The droid let out a very sentient-sounding scream as its top half fell to the ground with a clatter. Vhetin kept running as the two others swiveled to face him.

"_Target priority override,_" one of them rumbled. "_Initiate demolition procedures on target priority one, Mandalorian bounty hunter._"

"_Affirmative_," boomed the other, and they both opened fire at him.

Vhetin tripped as the ground at his feet was riddled with blaster bolts. He rolled, attempting to get ahead of their line of fire a bit, but the ground exploded beneath him as one of the Darktroopers fired its shoulder gun at him. He flew head-over-heels through the air, slamming face-first into a building wall and slumping to the ground. His saber-staff clattered to the ground a few meters away, it's bright blue blade deactivating and throwing him into darkness.

Vhetin coughed and tried to sit up. His HUD switched to low-light mode just as a Darktrooper's huge foot descended on his chest. He let out a shout of pain as the droid pushed down on its foot, attempting to crush his chest in.

Vhetin gasped, grasping the metallic foot and trying to pull it off his chest as the Darktrooper slowly crushed the breath out of him.

Suddenly, the trooper looked up and cried, "_Emergency! Emergency! All units, respond now!_"

Then the Darktrooper was blasted away in a wash of flame. Vhetin craned his neck to see the trooper fly through the darkness before landing in a smoldering heap almost fifteen meters away.

As he clambered back to his feet, coughing and holding his chest, he saw Massano kneeling in the sand, hefting a bulky rocket launcher.

Vhetin nodded at him, all the thanks he could muster put into the gesture. Massano stared at him for a moment, then nodded back, almost imperceptibly.

Then they both headed for the barricades, and the troopers pinned down there.

* * *

><p>Things were not going well for Jay. She had managed to keep Kassh's thugs at bay, and had been doing a fairly good job of it.<p>

Then the Darktrooper had showed up.

Stomping from around the corner of a building, the massive droid had taken one look at her and targeted her with its full compliment of weapons. She had swiftly lost ground after that.

She was currently pinned down by fire behind a cargo speeder. She squeezed off shots at the Darktrooper or any of the myriad of thugs that were attempting to surround her, but her opportunities for resistance were swiftly dwindling.

"Vhetin!" she shouted into her comlink as sparks exploded over her head. The entire speeder trembled and began to belch smoke. She cursed and rolled to new cover, firing as best she could as blaster bolts stitched the ground behind her. As she came to her hands and knees behind another speeder, she heard the Darktrooper rumble, "_Human female is hereby classified priority one. Move in and search and destroy as necessary._"

_Kark it all,_ she thought with a scowl as she reloaded her pistol. _I'm really starting to hate Kassh for this whole 'assassination' thing. Why does he want me dead so badly anyway?_

"Vhetin," she snapped into her hands-free comlink. "If you can hear me, I need backup at the vehicle lot _right now!_"

Her plea was met with nothing but static and the sounds of blaster fire. She cursed again and counted what ammunition she had left.

She had two more clips of ammunition for her pistol, two thermal detonators, and a vibroblade down one boot. She cursed a third time and found herself envying Vhetin his armor and its array of weapons.

She heard footsteps approaching from one side of the speeder, and she let her back thump against the side of the vehicle. She gripped her pistol tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, thinking, _Okay... you've got this. It's no different than that Stunball match. Except that if you lose, you die. You can do this._

She let out a long breath, then suddenly threw herself out from behind the speeder, immediately opening fire. Three of Kassh's thugs fell to the ground screaming, and she somersaulted over them.

She reloaded as she dashed down the aisles of vehicles, her entire body trembling with adrenaline. She could effortlessly remember everything Vhetin had taught her over the months, her every move honed by instinct. She could almost hear his teachings in her mind.

_Scan your surroundings,_ he'd said. _Never let your guard down._

Even as she remembered that, she ran at a crouched run behind a speeder bike, picking off targets as soon as they presented themselves and tossing her grenades at clusters of enemies. She took down three thugs, four, five... after a time, she stopped counting, every ounce of her attention focused on the fight at hand.

She snuck around a speeder, careful to keep out of the line of sight of the colossal Darktrooper. As she rounded the corner, an armored Nikto stuck its head out, looking for her, and she squeezed off a shot that hit him square in the forehead. The alien slumped, dead before it hit the ground, and Jay kept moving.

_Always remember to reload your weapon early,_ Vhetin had told her, his voice ringing through her mind even as she did as he'd advised. _It may seem like a waste of ammo at the time, but you don't want to run out of ammunition in the middle of a firefight._

She snapped back the charging rod of her pistol, tossing the magazine with three remaining shots into the sand behind her.

_Last magazine,_ she thought to herself. _Make it count._

By her estimation, there were at least six more of Kassh's thugs out here with her, as well as the Darktrooper. She wouldn't have enough ammo to deal with them all.

_Improvisation_, she remembered Vhetin saying on that day when Tarron had told them about the bounty on Kassh's head. She remembered how skillfully he'd used his sword and shield in conjunction, and that when she'd asked about it he'd replied that he'd made it all up on the fly.

So, she rolled out from cover, keeping her head down as she fired at everything and anything that moved. The _snap_ of her Verpine pistol was loud in the transport lot, and the yellow flash of her blaster bolts lit up the darkness around her. Only moments later, it seemed, a small whine from her pistol told her that she was once again running low on ammo, and she knelt to check the counter on the back of the weapon. It read that she had a minute amount of tibanna gas left in the ammo clip - enough for maybe five or six shots.

As she came to her feet, she swiveled to aim at a nearby Gammorean hefting a vibro-axe. She squeezed off four shots that hit the creature in the chest and face. The ugly, slobbering alien slumped over the railing into the vehicle lot, dropping its weapon as it did. She dashed toward the fallen axe, holstering her spent pistol as she sprawled in the sand, grasping for it.

A large boot landed in the dirt behind her, and a mechanical voice rumbled, "_Cease resistance and place your weapons on the ground._"

She turned to see the huge Darktrooper towering over her, wrist-mounted blaster cannon pointed directly at her face.

"_Cease resistance and place your weapons on the ground_," the droid repeated.

But she wasn't paying attention; she just remembered her time down in the tunnel during the Stunball match, when she'd been staring down the barrel of an enemies' Stunball pistol. Just like back then, she ever-so-slowly grasped the grip of her weapon, careful not the arouse the suspicion of her attacker.

_Improvisation_, she heard Vhetin's voice say again.

The barrel of the droid's cannon began to glow red with charge as the droid boomed, "_Cease resistance and place your weapons-_"

The Darktrooper was cut off as Jay swung the heavy vibro-axe. Its blade sprang to life with a purple glow as she smashed it across the droid's hand, severing it at the elbow. The droid let out a loud mechanized screech and staggered back, flailing its one good arm in the air.

Jay came to her feet, hefting the heavy axe over her shoulder as she swung again and caught the droid in the stomach. Sparks flew and wires spouted from the wound as the droid screamed again, falling to its knees and clawing at the air.

Using the momentum from her last strike, Jay swung the axe over her head with a shout of effort and brought it down on the Darktrooper's head.

The droid's body twitched as the vibrating purple blade of the axe sliced down through its central processor core. Its glowing red eyes flickered and dimmed as its heavy body fell to the ground with a crash.

Jay stood alone in the now-quiet courtyard, listening to the distant snap of blaster fire and the shouts of fighting militia troopers. With a grunt, she wrenched the vibro-axe from the Darktrooper's head and let it fall to the sand with a heavy _thud_ next to her.

She was breathing hard and she shook a strand of sweaty hair from her eyes as she surveyed her battlefield. Every last one of Kassh's thugs that had been stupid enough to stay and fight her lay dead, their bodies scattered around the transport lot.

She felt a sudden wave of exhaustion wash over her, and she staggered back, falling to her knees and letting her back hit against the nearest transport. She reached up to tap at the comlink in her ear and realized that it must have fallen out while she'd been fighting.

_Shab,_ she thought, barely even noticing her use of the Mandalorian word as she closed her eyes, feeling another wave of weariness sweep over her. _I did it. I almost died trying, but I did it._

* * *

><p>Vhetin sprinted for the transport lot, cutting down any of Kassh's thugs that stood in his way. He vaulted over a barricade, bringing his saber down and slicing it along a human thug's back. The man sputtered and slumped over the barricade as Vhetin landed on his feet and kept running.<p>

"Jay," he said over comms, "if you can hear me, I'm on my way. Hold on!"

He somersaulted as blaster bolts flew over his head and came up fighting, slicing a Quarren's hands off at the wrists and flooring him with a blow across the face from the blunt end of his saber-staff and a swift kick to the gut. It barely even slowed the Mandalorian down.

"Jay?" he said into the comm. "Jay, answer me!"

There was no answer. That wasn't good.

_Calm down,_ he told himself. _She's probably just in the middle of fighting and can't answer you. Just because she isn't answering doesn't mean she's dead._

The stretch of ground ahead of him was clear of enemies and he redoubled his efforts, sprinting through the dark, black on black. His heart was pounding as he thought, _I brought her into all of this. If something happened to her... I'd never forgive myself._

It was a feeling he'd experienced far too often. He would _not_ let it happen again.

He saw the transport lot come into view around the corner and he doubled his efforts. He barely noticed the safety rail that surrounded the lot, front-flipping right over it and skidding down the steep embankment. He skidded to a halt between two parked speeders and immediately scanned the area for signs of life.

It wasn't pretty; there was carbon scoring everywhere, evidence of recent blaster fire, and many inert bodies. He tightened his grip on his saber-staff and slowly made his way out into the main area of the lot.

The sand beneath his feet was churned by recent action, and blood - human and otherwise - stained the sand in many places.

"Jay?" he said quietly. "Are you there? Answer me?"

He moved out from around a speeder and saw the still-sparking corpse of a Darktrooper droid.

_Oh no. That thing will have ripped her to pieces_, he thought with a cold sinking in his gut. _He'd_ almost been crushed by one of the damn things, and he was a seven-year veteran of bounty hunting.

He lowered his lightsaber, shedding light on the prone form of the war droid. It seemed to have endured several blunt-force wounds to the chest and head, probably from the vibro-axe that was tossed in the dirt nearby.

And laying beyond it, dirty and bloody, her back propped up against a speeder, was Jay. His heart ran cold as he saw her and he sprinted over, setting his saber-staff aside and kneeling in the sand next to her.

"Jay?" he said quietly. He reached out and slapped her face softly, to draw her attention if she was just unconscious.

At his touch, she jumped and pulled her pistol, pressing it up under his chin. He cursed and pulled her arm off to one side before she could fire and she struggled against him for a moment. Two shots split the darkness before he was able to wrench the gun from her hand and say, "Calm down. Calm down. It's Vhetin."

She stared around at her surroundings, uncomprehending. Then she saw him kneeling there and relaxed.

"Oh," she said quietly. "It's you."

"Are you all right?" he asked, looking her over for any serious wounds. She had a small bloodstain near her collarbone, but he didn't think that was from any wound of hers.

She nodded her head, wearily brushing hair out of her face before letting her head hit against the side of the transport behind her with a _thud_. She sighed and nodded again, saying, "I'm good. And the transport lot is secure."

He couldn't help it; he burst out laughing. He didn't care that he'd almost died, or that she had almost died, or that Kassh was nowhere to be found. He just sat there with her and laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The End

Later, as the militia troopers were mopping up the last pockets of resistance from Kassh's thugs, Vhetin, Jay, Massano, and Farnmir were standing in the central room of the base, staring around at the droid decoys.

"The troopers are rounding up the last of Kassh's thugs," Massano said. "All of his goons face criminal charges and will be locked away for life. If they're lucky."

Farnmir chuckled. "They're already fighting over spare parts from those Darktroopers. For such childish troopers, I have to admit that they make a kick-ass militia."

"And what about the corrupt militiamen?" Jay inquired. "What happens to them?"

Massano shrugged. "I guess we'll have to screen each one of them individually. Normally I would have just fired them all and locked them up for their dishonesty, but now..."

He glanced at Vhetin and finished, "...now I believe in giving people a second chance."

Jay looked over at Vhetin and fought back a smile. Her partner, meanwhile, just nodded and said, "Thanks, _ner_ _vod_. I'm glad you see it that way.

"No. Thank you," Massano replied. "Without you guys, I would have sat back while this Kassh guy corrupted my men right under my nose. I owe you three a lot."

"Don't get too grateful," Farnmir said. "We're still just in this for the paycheck."

Massano chuckled and turned to Vhetin. There was an uneasy silence between the two before Vhetin said, "So where do we stand?"

"Right now? I won't shoot you. But I'll only consider us even if I die without ever seeing you back in my city. No offense, but old hostilities die hard."

Vhetin nodded and shook the militia leader's hand. "That sounds fair enough. I'm glad I could be of help."

Massano shook hands with all of them before turning and striding into the darkness, heading off to help his troopers mop up the rest of Kassh's thugs. He disappeared down a side hallway and the door slid shut behind him. In only moments, Vhetin, Jay, and Farnmir stood alone in the central room.

A part of Jay was sorry to see the man go; he had been an invaluable - if stubborn - ally. They could have used his help in bringing Kassh to justice. But there was nothing she could say that would convince the militia leader to accompany them. He had too many problems of his own to clean up, and probably the last thing he wanted was to accompany a trio of bounty hunters to track down a gang leader who had almost invaded his city right under his nose.

So she turned her attention back to the job at hand. To Vhetin in particular, since he'd been fussing over the results of the battle since the few relieved moments in the transport lot, where the fight had been brought to a close.

"And you're sure there's no sign of Kassh?" Vhetin asked Farnmir, kicking at a deactivated droid with the tip of one boot.

Farnmir nodded. "Yeah. I ran an I.D of all the dead thugs the militia rounded up and I didn't see anything from the sky either. He's not here."

"Maybe he got away?" Jay said. "Maybe he had... I don't know a secret transport of his own?"

Farnmir shook her head. "No. The sensors on Vhetin's ship would have picked something up. I'm telling you, he's not here. We lost him."

"But if he never even came to this base," Vhetin said, "why did Durge give you these coordinates?"

Farnmir shrugged. "Maybe to throw off the trail. Maybe he knew we were working with Prince Xizor and Jabba the Hutt, so he thought the best way to draw us away from his boss was to say that he was hiding right under our employer's noses. It sounds like something he would do."

She laughed. "Stang, is Prince Xizor going to be mad at us. I wouldn't be surprised if..."

She broke off and frowned curiously at Vhetin, who had suddenly gone tense and was staring at the floor. Jay glanced over at her partner and frowned as well.

"What?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

He slowly looked up, and Jay could almost see the look of dawning comprehension on his face, even through his helmet's T-visor. He clenched his fists as he murmured, "We've been played. Kriffing _played._"

Farnmir put her hands on her hips and fixed Vhetin with a confused stare. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're right," Vhetin said to her. "He wasn't here; he never even came to Tatooine."

"Then where-"

She was interrupted again as Vhetin suddenly dashed off into the darkness, headed outside.

"We're not done yet!" he yelled over his shoulder. "We need to get to Coruscant. _Now_!"

Jay sprinted after him, following him outside, where Tatooine's twin suns were just painting the sky with the first traces of dawn. She caught up just as he ran up the ramp into his ship, disappearing inside without even pausing to wait for her.

He ran straight for the cockpit, almost punching the button to get it open. As soon as it was open enough, he squeezed through and threw himself into the pilot's seat. He frantically entered commands into the main console and warmed up the sublight drives for immediate departure. He didn't even bother with the pre-flight system check.

"What in the _hell_ has gotten into you?" Jay cried as the deck jumped beneath her feet. "What's wrong?"

"I know where Kassh is," Vhetin said. "Or at least where he's going to be."

"Where?"

"We were never his main concern. He was just trying to get us out of the way so he could continue his plans. He didn't even tell Durge the truth; that's why his information led us to Tatooine."

"If you don't start making sense soon, Vhetin," she said as she was thrown into the gunner's seat by the shaking, "I'm going to have to shoot you myself."

"Think!" he said. "Remember what Kexio said back at the cantina on Coruscant? Kassh busted in on a very important meeting between all the biggest crime lords in the galaxy. And seeing as how he left before the meeting was over, that means that whatever he went in there to say, they didn't listen to him."

"Is there a point to all of this?"

"Kassh is volatile and dangerous," Vhetin said. "And if they disagreed with him, especially if it was over something important, he's going to be out for blood."

He entered a hailing comm into the ship's keyboard and said, "Tarron. Damn it, Tarron come in _now_!"

"I'm here," the Journeyman Protector's voice said. "What's got your _shebs_ in a tangle?"

"Hack into Black Sun's agenda right now. What's Prince Xizor's next scheduled meeting?"

"Give me a sec," Tarron said. "That's a pretty tall order. I don't-"

"Just do it," Vhetin snapped as he headed for high orbit.

"Okay, okay," Tarron grumbled and fell silent.

It was some time before he said, "Um... okay, it looks like he's got dinner scheduled tonight with the Duke of Serreno and his wife... um, after that he's leaving for Malastare..."

"Check earlier," Vhetin said as the stars came into view through the front viewport. "Like right now."

"Right now he's in the middle of a meeting with some business associates, most of which I don't recognize but... oh, this is interesting. Sekha and Jabba the Hutt are going to be there."

"Where?"

"It... uh, it doesn't say. Sorry Vhetin."

Jay's eyes widened as it suddenly clicked.

If Kassh was out for the other crime lords' blood, he'd be attacking that meeting. Everything they'd done since Rhen Var; the fight with Durge, meeting up with Massano, the attack on his base... it had all been a scam to lure them away while he focused on his own plans.

And they had taken the bait like a nexu in a blood frenzy.

"Like I said," Vhetin growled. "We need to get to Coruscant _right_ _now_. If not, Kassh is going to kill everyone in that meeting... including our employers."

* * *

><p><strong>Underworld, Imperial<strong> **Center** **(formerly** **Coruscant)**

Durge stared at his hand as he clenched a massive fist. Since his defeat at the Mandalorian's hands, his muscles had been acting a little twitchy. He slowly opened his fist, watching as his hands trembled from the effort.

He had just finished reuniting the severed halves of his body. Even now, waving tendrils of muscle and nerve slithered over his body as if they had minds of their own, rebuilding muscle structure and reconstructing his former body.

He let out a deep rumbling growl as two sinews twisted around each other, sending a spike of pain up the Gen'dai's spine.

There was still a gaping rent in his armor from the path the Mandalorian's lightsaber as it had slashed through him, but he could repair it easily enough.

He shook his helmeted head and clenched a fist, feeling his massive biceps slither around for a moment before solidifying once more into rock-hard muscle.

Caught up in his examination of his wounds, he didn't hear the quiet footsteps behind him, didn't see the dark figure creeping up on his blind side.

He growled to himself as he thought, _Damn_ _Mandalorian. I'll_ _rip_ _his_ _spine_ _from_ _his_ _body_ _the_ _next_ _time_ _I-_

There was a loud _snap-hiss_ behind him, and fire ripped through his torso. He roared in pain as dark blood spattered the floor beneath his feet and the lower half of his body fell away, twitching as it hit the ground in a clatter of armor plating.

For a moment, he sat there, face-down on the duracrete, bewildered by what had just happened. He tried to push himself up onto his hands and knees, but found that he could not; his knees could not support his weight. He collapsed in a heap, letting out a howl of pain as another wave of agony ripped through his torso.

Gritting his sharp teeth against the pain, he pushed himself up onto his hands and rolled himself over. Then he saw that his knees couldn't support his weight because they were once again separated from his body.

He was about to attempt to crawl towards the lower half of his body when a black armored boot landed on his chest plate, pinning him to the ground. The hated visage of a black Mandalorian helmet descended out of the shadows.

"You're going to tell me everything I want to know," Cin Vhetin said, holding his lit saber-staff only inches from Durge's helmeted face, "and you're going to tell me right now."

* * *

><p>Far too soon for her taste, Jay stepped back through the door of the Underworld cantina. The business was much as she remembered it from her last visit: there were still tables and chairs overturned, the Dug performer was still screaming into his amplicoder, and Kexio was still at the bar. She waved to get the Basilisk bartender's attention and made her way to him.<p>

She saw the same mercenaries that had challenged her and Vhetin the other day, sitting together in a booth along one wall. One of them saw her and tapped the other mercs on the shoulder, gesturing to her and whispering amongst each other. They started to get up, but she made sure her pistol was well within view on her hip, and the unarmed mercenaries seemed to think better of challenging her.

"I wish I could say it was good t' see you again," Kexio rumbled as she stepped up to the bar, "but you trashed my place pretty good las' time you passed through, so-"

"Spare me the complaints, Kex," she said. "I need to know what that big meeting between the crime lords was all about."

"How should I know?"

"You have security holocams installed, don't you?" Jay asked, playing her single trump card. "Imperial law dictates that all cantinas have to have them as a precaution against criminal activity. There's a hundred-credit reward for turning in any violators of that law."

Kexio's leathery reptilian face scrunched up in a grimace, then he said, "Fine, fine. Follow me and I'll show you th' footage from th' meeting. Just... keep it quiet, all right?"

"I promise I will," Jay said as she followed him.

* * *

><p>Kalyn Farnmir slid down the ladder into her ship's cargo hold and strode toward the single occupied cage. She pulled a stun prod from her belt and activated it. It sprang to life with a crackle of purple-white lightning.<p>

"Computer," she commanded as she approached Kassh's brother, "deactivate cage two's shields."

"Affirmative," replied the smooth voice of the computer, and the shimmering shields that stretched between the cage bars disappeared with a sputter of light.

As she approached, Killk shrank back against the back wall. Farnmir yanked open the door and dragged Killk out of the cage by his lekku. She threw him to the deck and planted an armored knee in his back, pinning him to the ground as she pressed the stun prod against the back of the his head.

The Twi'lek writhed and screamed as electricity coursed through his nervous system.

"Please!" he cried. "Please! Please don't kill me! Please!"

Farnmir didn't listen; she just dug the stun prod deeper into Killk's neck, making his scream increase by several octaves.

After a time, she deactivated the stun prod and climbed off the Twi'lek's back. She took two steps back and cocked her head to one side.

"Now, Killk," she said quietly, "tell me about your brother."

* * *

><p>All three met up within the hour outside the starport, joined by the life-sized holographic image of Tarron Matele.<p>

"Jay," Vhetin said, gesturing to her. "You go first. What did you find out about the meeting between all those crime lords?"

"Well," Jay said, running a hand through her hair, "we were right; Kassh was trying to convince the other crime lords not to ally their businesses with the Empire like Prince Xizor did with Black Sun. He looked like he was almost convincing them when this tall green guy - Xizor I'm guessing - strutted through the door and made him look like a complete fool. Next thing he knows, he's on the floor being beaten up by skinny blonde woman."

Farnmir chuckled. "Humiliating. It's no wonder he wants Xizor dead."

Jay looked to her partner. "What did Durge tell you?"

"I found out that the next meeting between all these organizations is in an abandoned warehouse near the border of the Industrial Sector. It was going to be held in one of Black Sun's plush business towers near the Senate Building, but apparently some of the crime lords wanted a more neutral meeting place."

"And what does Kassh plan to do with them all once they're all there?"

Vhetin frowned beneath his helmet and said, "Durge wasn't very specific — he was kind of lightheaded from blood loss - but he hinted that Kassh himself is going to oversee the operation."

"What do you think he's going to do to them?" Jay asked.

He shrugged. "Maybe he'll trap them in the warehouse and... I don't know, release some poison gas or something. That's what I would do in his situation; quick, painful, and anonymous."

"Kassh has already proven himself to be unpredictable," Tarron murmured, speaking for the first time as he rubbed his bearded chin thoughtfully. "I think that if you can find and capture him, the rest of his plan will fall apart. His lackeys lack motivation; without their boss breathing down their necks, they'll just break and run."

"No offense," Jay said, "but that's easier said than done. We've been a step behind him this entire hunt."

"Then there's only one way to go about this," Vhetin said.

"What?"

"We have to get a step ahead of _him_. Lay a trap for him that he won't slither out of."

"Again," Jay pointed out, "easier said than done."

"We'll see. Farnmir, what did you find out?" Vhetin asked the bounty huntress. She had interrogated Kassh's brother, trying to find out what Kassh would be planning.

"Next to nothing," Farnmir replied. "Apparently Kassh and his brother aren't exactly the closest of siblings. After spending a half-hour with that armless schutta, I can't blame him; that guy's annoying enough to make a Mon Calamari pacifist want to cut his head off."

"Did you manage to get _anything_ from him?"

"Actually, yes. He kept thinking all this was about his brother stealing some kind of Black Market shipment. He kept saying that his brother had taken a 'glowrod' without paying for it."

"A glowrod?" Jay said, confused. "What the hell is he talking about?"

"At first I didn't know. But then he mentioned the fact that his brother had hurled this green 'glowrod' at his head and that hit had melted through a meter of durasteel in the blink of an eye. What other glowing weapon causes damage like that?"

"A lightsaber," Vhetin sighed. "Just great."

Jay shook her head and said, "Where do you people _get_ these things? Lightsabers are supposed to be an Empire-monitored technology!"

"Anything can be stolen or smuggled," Farnmir said. "Just because the Emperor waves his wrinkled hands and says something doesn't make it universal law."

"That's not important," Vhetin said. "All that's important is that now Kassh is deadlier than ever. We need to get to that warehouse, tell the crime lords what's going on, and make sure Kassh's plan fails."

Farnmir nodded and turned back to her ship. "I'll talk to you guys again when we get to the warehouse."

"I'll send you the coordinates," Vhetin called after her.

After she had disappeared from view, Vhetin and Jay turned to the shimmering blue hologram of Tarron, who raised an eyebrow and said, "Wow. She's even worse than her file."

"Yeah," Jay said. "Reality sucks; we all sympathize, Tarron."

"In the meantime," the holographic Journeyman Protector said, his voice intermittently cut through with static, "I have some new info for you. When Kassh does attack in force, I know who's going to be with him."

"Who? Hopefully not Durge again."

"No. Kassh left him behind to kill you two, actually. But he doesn't want to openly attack the rest of the crime lords with his own troops. He wants to kill them anonymously, so that their territories are wide open for him to take."

"Ambitious. But who is he using? Any big names?"

"No. But a contact of mine in Midnight Ultraviolet told me that he's assembled a task force of four snipers, twenty-five mercenaries hired out of Nar Shadda, and no less than five hacked Mark-Three Darktroopers."

"Oh, well then," Jay said sarcastically. "What's to worry about? We barely survived the last time he threw those damn droids at us, but hey, what's life without a few challenges?"

"Stow the sarcasm, Jay," Vhetin said. "This is serious now. Either we find and capture Kassh, or he wins and he kills our employers."

Jay nodded, sighing in exasperation. "Yes, Vhetin. I'm very aware of the situation. I'm just... never mind."

Vhetin turned back to Tarron and said, "We may need to alert the local authorities if the situation gets out of hand. Is there anything you can do about that?"

Tarron chuckled. "Yeah, stormtroopers foiling an assassination attempt on the galaxy's biggest criminal masterminds. I'd love to see that."

"Can you do it?"

Tarron thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. If you can send me an emergency message, I have friends in the CSF who'll be more than happy to help out in bringing Kassh down. Who knows? They may even cut you guys some slack when they capture you and only commit you to a life sentence in the Coruscant High-Security Prison."

Jay grimaced, reminded once more of her previous bout in prison. "Please don't joke like that."

"Oh... I'm sorry," Tarron quickly said. "I forgot."

He turned back to Vhetin and said, "I'll keep an eye on you guys, just in case."

"Thanks," the Mandalorian said as Tarron's hologram sputtered out. He scooped up the holotransmitter and headed for his ship.

"Come on," he said. "We have to get moving."

* * *

><p>"Halt!" the Nikto guard at the door to the 'deserted' warehouse said, holding up a hand. "You are trespassing on private-"<p>

Farnmir pulled her pistol and aimed it squarely at the guard's face.

"Step aside," she said, "unless you want to die right here and now."

Within moments, no less than ten guards had surrounded them, blasters pointed at their heads. Farnmir glanced around, but her arm didn't move.

Vhetin stepped up and pushed her arm away. "Remember, we're on their side," he murmured.

Farnmir scowled. "Then they should stay out of our way."

He turned to the guard and said, "We need to talk to your employers now."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Don't play dumb with us," he interrupted. "We know about the meeting here."

"How-"

"All you need to know," Farnmir growled, "is that unless you let us through right now, this entire place is going to go up in flames."

"I don't know what you're-"

"Trust us," Jay said, hoping to be the single non-threatening voice in the bunch. "We need to talk to your bosses. It's _very_ important."

The Nikto narrowed his eyes and said, "Okay, but I'll need to check with command."

"You do that," Vhetin said as he turned away. "Just make it fast. We don't know how much time is left."

Jay stood, her hand resting on the butt of her pistol and glancing nervously at the guards that kept their guns pointed at their heads. Of all the situations she'd been in since this job started, this was by far the most tense. Every one of the guards was ready to shoot and kill at a moment's notice. She hoped Vhetin knew what he was doing.

Farnmir, meanwhile, didn't seem to be anywhere near as nervous as Jay was. In fact, she was glaring at each of the guards in turn.

"Just how much are they paying you for this?" she asked one of them. Her remark was met with a grunt, nothing more.

The Nikto guard took a single step away, murmuring into his comlink. "Yes. Yessir. Yessir. I'll let them know. Yessir."

Finally, he gestured at the guards. "Stand down. The Prince has cleared them for access."

Much to Jay's relief, the guards slowly lowered their rifles and grudgingly headed back to their security posts. The Nikto gestured to the bounty hunters and growled, "Prince Xizor will see you now."

Jay was about to step forward with Vhetin, but the Mandalorian held out a hand to stop her.

"No," he said to her. "I need you to go with Kalyn and brief the guards. They need to know what's going on as soon as possible."

Farnmir folded her arms and said, "We'll set up snipers on the roof as a precaution. I'll comm you when we're finished solidifying the defenses out here."

Vhetin nodded. "I'll keep the crime lords safe."

Jay smiled slightly. "Do you know how much that made you sound like a criminal yourself?"

"No time for jokes now, Rookie," Farnmir said as Vhetin turned and jogged after the Nikto guard, disappearing into the warehouse. "We need to get set up fast."

One of the guards raised a hand and said, "Everyone, get over here. These schuttas have something to tell us."

The guards gathered around the two bounty huntresses in a rough circle, much like before. Jay was at least glad that their guns weren't pointed at her head now.

Farnmir looked around at all of the assembled guards and said, "Do any of you know about a Twi'lek gangster named Kassh Goran?"

Most of the guards nodded; Midnight Ultraviolet was obviously bigger news on Coruscant than on Tatooine. Jay was glad, because that made her job that much easier.

"Good," Farnmir said, nodding to herself, "because he's on his way here right now with his own personal strike force. And he's dead-set on killing the guys who sign your paychecks."

There were scattered murmurs of concern throughout the assembled guards, and Jay had to admire Farnmir's tactics. The older woman had obviously been in this business a _long_ time, and knew just which buttons to push to get her allies to perform to the best of their abilities.

With these guards, a moving speech about freedom and courage in the face of death would be pointless; a threat to their money was a much more serious motivator.

Farnmir let that sink in for a moment before saying, "We're going to stop this schutta, but we need your help."

"How do we know you aren't just trying to trick us and kill our bosses by getting us on your side?" asked a dark-skinned Zabrak guard pensively.

"If we wanted your bosses dead," Farnmir replied coolly, "we would have just strafed the place from our ships and not bothered with all this. The fact that we're offering to help should be proof enough that we're not trying to trick you."

"Fair enough," the Zabrak said, nodding to himself.

Farnmir stared at the guard long enough to ensure he wasn't about to challenge her authority again. Then she gestured to the duracrete warehouse behind her. "Your organizations picked this warehouse for a reason," she said. "Why?"

After a short silence, a young human man spoke up. "It has a depression in the ceiling that's a good position for snipers. We've set up security posts around three-quarters of the warehouse, and the last side faces the G-sector River."

_River_? Jay thought. Coruscant was a planet-wide city; there hadn't been any rivers on the planet since thousands of years before... well, thousands of years before the _Mandalorian_ Wars at least.

Farnmir nodded to herself, then said, "I'll oversee your men up in the sniper post. Jay here will go with whoever is left to secure a perimeter defense."

The woman fixed Jay with an unreadable stare and asked, "Think you can handle that?"

"Hell yeah," Jay said, drawing her pistol and double-checking the ammo counter. "One of the first things Vhetin taught me was how to secure a building's perimeter."

"Good," Farnmir said as she turned away. "Then get to it."

Farnmir took half of the guards and disappeared around the corner. Jay turned to her half of the guards and said, "I want you to show me everything about this area. I want to know it like I know the back of my hand."

The Zabrak guard, who had stayed with her group, nodded and motioned for her to follow.

"What do you need to see first?" the alien said, rubbing a dull cranial horn like a human would rub at his chin.

"Let's take a look at this river first," she replied. "I need to know if it's a viable approach to the warehouse. You said you weren't guarding that side."

"Oh, we're not. But you'll see why in a moment."

As they headed around the building, the rest of the guards following them, the Zabrak offered his hand and said, "My name's Jao-Dun."

"Jay Kolta," she replied, shaking the offered hand. She didn't sense any outward animosity from the being, but she remained wary all the same. These men worked for beings like Sekha and the infamous Jabba the Hutt. Her instinct told her to treat them with caution.

She found that the G-sector River was not a river after all, rather a huge broken durasteel pipe - at least thirty-five meters tall - with highly reflective blue coolant fluid slogging past slowly. Jay had to cover her mouth to block out the stink, and was only partially successful.

"Lovely," she said, her voice muffled through her hands. "I've flown barge runs over Raxus Prime that smelled better."

Jao-Dun inhaled deeply, as if he enjoyed the stink. He broke into coughs soon after, however, and said, "Yeah. It's not great, but it serves our purposes."

"How so? Scaring away local wildlife and the occasional drifter?"

The Zabrak gestured toward a stack of containment barrels near the "river's" edge. "With the broken pipe so close by, we can spend our off time siphoning off the reactor coolant and selling it on the black market."

Smart, Jay had to admit. But it was dangerous, keeping coolant so close to a meeting place for crime lords. Everyone knew that coolant fluid was highly flammable; one of the reasons starships exploded with such gusto. And with so many coolant vats piled in such close proximity to a karking river of the stuff, even a stray blaster bolt could blow the entire area to Force-knew-where.

Then an idea came to her. She frowned thoughtfully and turned to Jao-Dun.

"Do you have any loadlifter droids to move these coolant vats?" she asked him.

The Zabrak nodded. "Sure. It would take hours to get these things out of here without them. Why? What are you thinking?"

She gestured to the vats and said, "Get those loadlifters working on moving those vats. We may just have an advantage here."

* * *

><p>The Nikto guard led Vhetin into the warehouse, past several heavily armed security checkpoints. Obviously, the meeting room was situated deep in the facility. And, Vhetin noticed as they trudged down a long stairway, it appeared to be buried deep underground. Smart; even if the warehouse did come under attack, the crime lords would be well removed from any action.<p>

"Jay," he said, activating his comlink as he walked down a second flight of stairs. "Sit-rep."

"I've got a plan to keep Kassh's thugs away from the warehouse. I don't know if it'll work for Kassh himself, because he's probably not going to tag along with the first assault, but it'll definitely keep them back for a while."

He noted that she was purposefully not telling him about her plan. He didn't know if that was because she wanted maximum surprise when she jumped into action, or that she thought their comm line wasn't secure. Either way, he didn't inquire any further.

"Okay," he nodded. "Just remember that we want Kassh _alive. _And if you scare him off, we won't be able to spring our trap."

"Come on, Vhetin," she said, sounding self-confident for the first time in... well, Vhetin couldn't remember. "When have I ever let you down?"

It was a rhetorical question; they both knew that she would meet whatever challenge was set in front of her with all her ability. It was one of her greatest qualities when it came to bounty hunting.

"What about Farnmir?"

"Set up with the other snipers on the roof. They're dug in pretty well up there; it won't take them long to take out Kassh's snipers when they show themselves. They're pretty much invisible up there."

"Good," he breathed. He glanced up as the guard ahead of him knocked on a door. Obviously, they had arrived. So he wrapped his conversation up, saying, "I'll check back in a few minutes."

"I'll be waiting," Jay replied. She paused, then said, "Be careful."

He nodded, more to himself than to anyone in particular. "Yeah. You too."

Then he signed off the comm and stepped past the guard, into the room.

The door shut behind him, and he heard a hiss of pressurized air as the room was sealed against gas, explosions, or other threats to the crime lords within.

The room within wasn't exactly plush, but the gangsters' servants and majordomos had done their best to spruce the place up enough to house their masters. The dirty, cracked duracrete walls had been draped with expensive draperies, and the floor had been covered by a thick green carpet. Vhetin himself thought it just made the floor look like it was covered in mold, but he knew better than to say anything.

There was a rough duracrete table rising from the floor in the center of the room, and it was around this table that more than seven major criminal masterminds were sitting. Vhetin recognize several of them immediately: the regal-looking Prince Xizor, the quivering mass of blubber and slime that was Jabba the Hutt, and the beautiful and delicate-looking Sekha. The rest he didn't immediately notice, and so were not important for now.

He bowed his head slightly, a gesture of respect. Jabba and Xizor were his employers, after all. As he straightened, Xizor stared at him with a cold, curious gaze.

"I hope you have good reasons," the Falleen Prince said quietly, "for intruding on this top-secret meeting, bounty hunter."

He nodded and replied, "I do. I've tracked Kassh to Coruscant, and discovered that he is planning to attack this base."

The crime lords began whispering among themselves worriedly, and several cast glares in his direction; after all, he had been charged to bring Kassh in, not lead them to their meeting place. Vhetin had long since grown used to such stares, however, and ignored them.

Sekha was grinning to herself, obviously pleased that her old friend Kassh was causing so much trouble. Vhetin wasn't surprised; she'd always had a mischievous streak that was lacking in the other crime lords. It was what had led her to try and literally stab him in the back when he'd worked for her and subsequently what had made him leave her service as a privately employed hunter.

Jabba belched and rumbled in Huttese, "Let him come. We are safe here. We have taken precautions, and made sure that-"

"_Silence_," Xizor snapped, flicking a taloned hand at the Hutt. "Save your egotistical ramblings for those who would listen to them."

Jabba narrowed his reptilian eyes dangerously, but fell silent.

The Falleen turned back to Vhetin and inquired, "When is he planning this?"

"He may be here as we speak."

There was silence throughout the room. Sekha's grin slowly faded, replaced by a look of concern. Jabba's eyes stretched wide again, and the rest of the crime lords glanced nervously at each other.

Xizor rubbed his leathery chin thoughtfully. "Kassh has obviously grown bolder in recent months than I anticipated," he murmured, sounding as if he was mostly speaking to himself. After a moment, he turned to the attractive blond woman standing at his shoulder.

"Guri," he said, "I want you to move to the upper levels. Ensure that no one passes checkpoint three. Lethal force is necessary."

The woman silently nodded and pulled two long-barreled blasters from the back of her belt before disappearing through the door.

Xizor watched her go, then said, "I trust you have taken precautions of your own, bounty hunter?"

Vhetin nodded. "Yeah. My... _team_ is up top, securing the defenses. When he shows up, we'll be ready for him."

Xizor nodded. "Good. I want you to stay here in the lower levels and ensure our safety. Let no one past."

"It'll cost you," Vhetin said. He'd had so many troubles on this mission already, he was beginning to think that even the ample reward of a hundred thousand credits wasn't going to be enough.

Jabba chuckled, a deep, wet sound that made Vhetin's lip curl in disgust.

"You were supposed to track this schutta down before he caused more trouble. And not only have you _not_ accomplished that goal, but he is now planning to kill us all! You will be lucky if you will be paid a _fraction_ of the original posted bounty!"

Vhetin tightened his grip on the lightsaber hilts on his belt, his face furrowing in a scowl. "You'll want to reconsider that," he growled. "I've got enough going on without adding an assassination attempt to the list."

Jabba let out a quick _ho_ _ho_ _ho_ of laughter and gurgled, "I'd like to see you try it, bucket-head."

"Would you boys like to take this dispute outside?" Sekha inquired innocently, batting her eyelids. "My money's on the Mandalorian."

"_Enough_," Xizor hissed, his voice suddenly tinged with reptilian coldness. He glanced between them all, then snapped, "Now is not the time for this. If Kassh is already en route as you have implied, bounty hunter, then we all must prepare."

"If the guards arm you all," Vhetin said, looking between the crime lords as well, "can I trust you all not to shoot each other?"

One of the gangsters, a blue-skinned Twi'lek male, narrowed his eyes and began to rise from his seat, hissing, "Of all the impudent-"

He was silenced by a single glare from Prince Xizor, and he slowly returned to his seat. The Falleen returned his gaze to Vhetin and said, "I will deal with our protection. Leave us with a single squad of guards, then guard the hall outside. Again, allow no one to pass, be it Kassh's thugs or our guards."

"As you wish." Vhetin bowed his head again as he turned back to the door. "I will contact you again when we have him in custody."

"Be sure to," Xizor said, narrowing his eyes.

"Good luck," Sekha called after him, her voice still tinged with that hint of wicked mischief.

As the door swung shut behind him again, he opened his comm line to Jay again.

"Hey," she replied at his hail, "I just finished up securing the perimeter and the guards are spread out around the compound. What's the news with the crime lords?"

"They're safe for now," Vhetin said. "But I've been ordered to stand guard down here until they deem it safe. Any sign of Kassh?"

"Nope. When Farnmir or the sniper team finds something, you'll be the first to know. After me, of course."

He cracked a hint of a smile and said, "Okay. Keep on your toes. We'll only have one shot at this, and if Kassh thinks he's not going to make it, he'll bug out fast."

"Copy that," his partner said before signing off.

Vhetin sighed and settled himself in to wait.

* * *

><p><strong>Later<strong>

The sky was pitch black when one of the snipers said, "Hey... I think I've got something here."

Kalyn Farnmir looked up from her own scan of the area surrounding the warehouse and looked over at the sniper. "What is it?"

"Movement in Sector Gee-Nineteen," the black-clothed human replied, fiddling with the infrared adjustments on his rifle. "It could be nothing... just a Hawkbat or someone's lost Gizka, but-"

"Let me take a look," Kalyn said, crawling on her belly towards the man and his rifle, careful to keep as close to the roof of the warehouse as possible. The man shifted aside to allow her access to the rifle. She shouldered the blaster and sighted in on Sector G-19: a square-meter division of the area on the west side of the warehouse situated near a speeder access road.

She squinted, making the computerized scope zoom in, and saw a dull red blob dart across the road. She increased the infrared level and was able to pick out several different blobs, all motioning to each other and moving quickly across the area.

"What do you think?" the sniper asked, rubbing his tired eyes. "Just an animal right?"

The man sounded nervous; Kalyn couldn't blame him. Her heart was pounding, and it was only partly from excitement that her hunt was almost over.

She'd known for hours that Kassh wasn't going to show his ugly face in broad daylight. He preferred attacking at night, and now it seemed that her theory had been correct. Here they were, right where she wanted them.

She turned to the trooper and said, "I don't think so. Send up the alarm."

"What?"

"_Send_ _up_ _the_ _alarm_."

The man blinked for a moment, then nodded and turned away, pressing a finger to the comlink in his ear. Kalyn activated her own comm and said, "Hey Rookie, it's Farnmir here."

"What's up?" Jay replied, sounding bored. "Another Duracrete Leech trip the perimeter alarm?"

"No. I've picked up movement along the west side of the warehouse. Advise you check it out, over."

There was a pause, then the other woman replied, "Okay. I'll see what's going on, then relay the info to Vhetin. If it is Kassh, do us all a favor and keep an eye out for his snipers will you?"

"Copy that," she replied, settling herself back behind her own rifle and moving the weapon over to the western side of the roof. She shifted for a moment, moving into a comfortable, stable shooting position before sighting in on the red blobs.

"What's the deal, Rookie?" she asked. "Friend or foe?"

"The guards say it isn't one of their patrols," Jay replied. "I don't know. Can you get a better view?"

"No," Kalyn replied blankly.

"Okay. Um... what do we do now?"

"Besides wait for them to start shooting?"

There was a pause over the comm, then the Rookie slowly said, "Yeah."

"We can be proactive," Kalyn said, shifting her position carefully placing her finger on the firing stud of her rifle, "and take 'em out before they get organized."

"Farnmir," Jay said, "wait for a second. We don't know who we're dealing with, and we don't want to give away your position before we're ready for-"

_Kark_ _that, _Kalyn thought, her face pulling down in a scowl. _Kassh_ _sold_ _me_ _out_ _to_ _the_ _Imperials. He'll_ _pay_ _for_ _that._

Then Farnmir pulled the trigger and the echoing _crack_ of her rifle drowned out the Rookie's voice.

* * *

><p>"Farnmir," Jay said, "wait for a second. We don't know who we're dealing with, and we don't want to give away your position before we're ready for-"<p>

Jay instinctively ducked, her voice cut off as the loud _crack_ of a sniper rifle split the silence above her. She saw one of the distant shadowy figures crumple to the ground and she drew her pistol, muttering, "Damn it."

"All units," Farnmir's voice said over the open comm channel, "unidentified contacts approaching from the west. Regroup and engage. Repeat, regroup and engage."

"Stay where you are!" Jay said to the guards closest to them. "Do not move until we know what the hell is going on!"

Suddenly, a projectile sniper bullet slashed by her face, close enough for her to feel the wind created by its passing. She staggered back, losing her balance and sprawling back on the duracrete. The bullet hit one of the human guards in the chest and he flew back with a scream.

She shook hair out of her face and rolled over to stare around at the darkness around them. The warehouse was situated in a huge hundred-meter duracrete plaza, far removed from any buildings. But even as Jay watched, four yellow bolts sporadically flashed from a tall skyscraper across the plaza, screeching through the silence to strike guards in the head, chest, or hands.

_Four_ _snipers, just_ _like_ _Tarron_ _said_, Jay thought. She tapped her ear-mounted comlink and snapped, "Farnmir, get off your ass and take those snipers out!"

"I'm trying!" the bounty huntress snapped back. "They're wearing some kind of heat-hiding suits. It's hiding their thermal imprints and making it a bugger to hit them."

She cursed again and switched comm channels. Around her, guards took cover behind large shipping crates or down behind walls built to stop speeders from parking too close to the warehouse. The occasionally jumped up, squeezing off shots at the advancing Midnight Ultraviolet mercenaries. As soon as the mercs were in range, they began firing back. The air was soon filled with multicolored blaster bolts and the acrid tinge of ion burn.

"Vhetin," she said into her comm, scrambling to her feet and firing at the approaching mercenaries, "we've got company up here. We're holding out, but you might want to keep on your toes down there."

"All right," her partner replied. "Keep your head down."

"Copy that," she said, ducking down next to Jao-Dun behind a three-meter-high supply crate. The Zabrak grinned at her as she fired.

"Having fun yet?"

She glanced at him. "This isn't the time to be making jokes."

"I'm not," he said, popping his head and blaster around the crate and firing three shots from his short-stocked rifle. Two bodies fell to the ground a few meters away, twitched, a lay still. The Zabrak grinned again, moved back behind the crate, and said, "I live for this."

"Then you're crazier than I thought," Jay muttered as she carefully sighted in on a lumpy mass that could only have been a Gammorean. She fired three times, and the dark figure stumbled.

Two more sniper shots flashed over her head with loud _cracks_, the projectile bolts invisible against the dark sky. Sparks lit up the darkness as bullets ricocheted off the duracrete at Jay's feet, making her scramble back behind cover.

"Damn it," she breathed, letting her head hit back against the crate. She activated her comm and said, "Farnmir, how close are you to taking out those snipers?"

Three swift shots - a staccato _crack, crack, crack_ - echoed almost directly over her head, and the other bounty huntress replied, "I'm doing my best. I think I got one of them, but-"

Her transmission was cut off as another sniper bullet ricocheted off the ground near Jay's foot.

"Try harder!" she snapped.

As Jao-Dun peeked out from his end of the crate, he reported, "The targets are approaching fast. Sniper team, focus your fire on them while the bounty hunter takes down the snipers. Get ready for a volley on my mark."

"Be careful not to shoot any Twi'leks," Jay added. "Kassh is to be taken alive. Repeat, we want him _alive_."

The comm channels were filled with affirmations as Jao-Dun busied himself reloading his blaster. Jay hazarded a look around her end of the crate and saw that the mercenaries were close enough to be seen in the light of the mounted glowlamps set up a few meters from the warehouse.

"On my mark..." Jao-Dun murmured. "In three... two... _fire_!"

Every sniper rifle fired, releasing a deafening _boom_ punctuated by the white-hot flashes at the end of the gun barrels. Those few mercenaries that were in view crumpled or were blasted back off their feet, dead before they could scream.

"Nice shot sniper team!" Jao-Dun cried, punching a gloved fist in the air. "Reload and prepare for another volley."

Two more sniper shots erupted from the roof of the building, and Farnmir said, "I got two more of the snipers. Only one left... oh _kriff!_"

Jay saw it too; the approaching silhouettes of five huge Darktrooper droids. They stomped forward, heedless of the Midnight Ultraviolet mercs they shoved aside as they went. As one, they raised their arms and unleashed a barrage of bolts from their wrist blasters and their shoulder-mounted cannons.

Jay ducked back behind the supply crate as the blaster and cannon bolts exploded around her, sending guards flying and making chunks of duracrete erupt from the walls and ground in explosions of smoke, fire, and noise.

"Damn," she muttered, reloading her pistol. "They're here sooner than we thought."

She glanced over at Jao-Dun. "Ready to spring the trap?"

The Zabrak grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

He pulled his comlink and said, "All guards in the vicinity of Sector G-Thirteen, fall back and reinforce rear positions. We're about to unveil our welcoming present. You have ten seconds."

There was a chorus of agreements and affirmations over the comm as Jay silently counted, _Ten... nine... eight... seven..._

The Darktroopers only trudged closer, their barrage of blaster bolts exploding off the durasteel crate she and Jao-Dun were using for cover. She didn't flinch, just pulled a remote detonator from her belt and thumbed open the control hatch.

_Three... two... one_!

She pushed the red button in the center of the detonator, and the entire square bucked beneath her feet.

Past the guard barricade, all the supply crates detonated as one, the reactive coolant fluid that they had borrowed from the G-Sector River and stored within them igniting violently in roaring flashes of pale blue fire. The explosion enveloped Darktroopers and MUV mercs alike, and the firefight stopped for a few moments. When the smoke, flame, and ash cleared, the square beyond was littered with debris. Nothing moved, and silence descended on the duracrete courtyard.

Jay let out a relieved sigh and tossed the spent detonator aside. "Well," she said, "that's one problem taken care of."

Their break wasn't going to last long; already, mercenary reinforcements were approaching from the shadows at the end of the courtyard. But it was a relief just to be able catch her breath.

Jao-Dun grinned like a child who'd been given a sweetcake, staring out at the explosion site. "You just made my day, bounty hunter. Let's hope your Kassh guy wasn't in the middle of all that."

Jay nodded. "Yeah. Let's hope."

"Nice work," Farnmir said. "I bet the Imperials saw that from orbit. In fact... _oh_ _sh_-"

The rest of her transmission was cut off, and Jay sat up, instantly alert again. "Farnmir?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Even as she asked, the bounty huntress came vaulting off the roof of the building, shouting, "Move! Move!"

Two more snipers followed her, landing hard on the duracrete and tucking their rifles tightly against their bodies to avoid damaging the fragile weapons.

Another explosion ripped the night, accompanied by a blinding flash of orange-white flame from the roof of the building. The ground bucked beneath Jay's feet again, sending her sprawling.

"What the hell was _that_?" Jao-Dun snapped as Farnmir took cover behind another nearby supply crate. Jay quickly got to her feet again and scrambled back behind cover, emptying her pistol's magazine at the approaching mercenaries as they took advantage of her momentary loss of footing and opened fire at her.

Farnmir threw aside her sniper rifle and drew her silver-plated pistol. "I picked up more troops approaching from the east. One of the buggers tossed a thermal det up right into the middle of us. We're surrounded."

Jay ducked as a bright red blaster bolt sizzled through the air, missing her by only a few centimeters. She looked up and fired three times before being forced to move back to cover while she reloaded.

As she did, she spotted another dark figure sprinting for the door of the warehouse. At first she thought it was one of the guards, fleeing in cowardice for the safe halls of the base, but she noticed that there was a flapping lekku protruding from the base of his skull. The other one was nothing but a stump against his head.

She frowned, suddenly thinking hard. Hadn't the bounty for Kassh said that he was missing a lekku?

She cursed and activated her comm. "All guards form up and fall back inside the warehouse!" she yelled as she fired at a spindly human with a large blaster rifle. "We're surrounded, and there are mercenaries inside! Repeat, fall back into the warehouse!"

"Come on!" she shouted. She grabbed Jao-Dun's wrist before the Zabrak could open fire again, yanking him toward the warehouse doors as Farnmir rolled out from cover and released four hastily-aimed shots at the approaching enemy to cover their escape.

As the three of them ducked into the warehouse, one of the guards shouted over the building's intercom system, "Kassh's troops have entered the base! Kassh's troops have entered the-"

The rest of the transmission was cut off by blaster fire.

Jay pressed a finger to the comlink hooked into her ear, saying, "Vhetin, get ready. I think Kassh is headed right for you."

* * *

><p>Vhetin flexed his gloved grip around the contoured grip of his saber-staff in anticipation as he heard Jay's voice shout, "All guards form up and fall back inside the warehouse!"<p>

_Come_ _on, Kassh_, he thought with a scowl. _I'm_ _right_ _here_ _waiting_ _for_ _you. _

Without warning, a howling Weequay came running down the stairs, brandishing his empty blaster rifle like a club. Vhetin ducked the first clumsy swing at his helmet and brought his saber-staff up at the alien's chest.

The _snap-hiss_ of the igniting blade drowned out the Weequay's howling, followed by a sizzle as the glowing blue blade stabbed into the Weequay's chest. The alien's brown eyes stretched wide, then he fell back without a sound.

Vhetin straightened, deactivating his weapon and returning to his previous stance to wait. It wasn't long before more of Kassh's troops made their way towards him. He quickly and efficiently dealt with them; they were simple hired guns, no match for his prowess in battle. Soon the passage around him was littered with bodies, the walls and floor scorched by blaster fire and lightsaber burns. But Vhetin didn't move. There was only one way to get to the crime lords, and Kassh knew that as well as he did.

Unfortunately, Kassh seemed to be throwing all of his forces in his direction before he moved in himself. As he waited, the loud _clomp_ _clomp_ _clomp_ of metallic boots sounded from the top of the stairs, and Vhetin's HUD picked out the approaching form of a Mark-III Imperial Darktrooper.

He slumped in disappointment. He'd hoped that Jay and Farnmir had destroyed all five Darktroopers with their coolant fluid explosion earlier. It seemed that he wasn't that lucky.

The mechanical trooper turned its red photoreceptors on him and raised its arm-mounted cannons, rumbling, "_Step_ _aside_ _and_ _place_ _your_ _weapons_ _on_ _the_ _ground. Failure_ _to_ _comply_ _will_ _result_ _in_ _immediate_ _termination_."

Vhetin didn't answer the droid; he just activated his saber-staff and darted forward, hoping to take it by surprise.

No such luck; the Darktrooper merely swung its massive arm and caught him in the chest, driving him into the duracrete wall hard enough to send web-like cracks up as high as the ceiling. Vhetin grunted as his armor took most of the force out of the blow and swung his staff down, severing the droid's arm at the shoulder.

If the trooper registered the damage, it didn't show it; it just swiveled its shoulder-mounted cannon to face him and fired.

Vhetin didn't think; he just ducked and somersaulted forward. The rocket took another huge chunk out of the wall, and red-hot chips of duracrete flashed by the huge droid's faceplate as it approached. It made a fist with its remaining arm and a long vibroblade sprung from its arm, activating with a metallic buzz.

Vhetin got to his feet again, bringing his own weapon up in a defensive position as the Darktrooper approached.

As soon as it was in range, the Darktrooper swung the vibroblade at him, specifically aiming at the weak points in his armor: under the armpits, the ribs, and the neck.

Vhetin avoided the first wave of attacks, though the vibroblade did peel a long, thin stripe of paint off his _beskar'gam_'s chest plate. He brought his saber up and sliced up through the control panel on the Darktrooper's chest, but the droid didn't even slow. It just stomped forward and raised its weapon again. Vhetin ducked out of the way of the next slash and severed the trooper's shoulder cannon with a quick slice.

The trooper spun with surprising speed and caught Vhetin in the chest with a powerful punch. The bounty hunter sprawled back on the floor, struggling to get to his feet.

As the droid raised a foot, preparing to crush his chest in like the droid on Tatooine had attempted, Vhetin rolled out of the way, coming to his feet behind the Darktrooper. He sliced upward with his lit saber-staff, spun, and stabbed the droid right in the fuel intake port that supplied power to the rocket pack built into its back. The sparks that flew from his saber's glowing blade ignited the fuel within, and the trooper suddenly exploded into motion, propelled back down the hall by the force of the escaping flame. With an blast of light and shrapnel and a last metallic scream, the trooper smashed into a durasteel wall down the hall and exploded.

Vhetin slumped to his knees, winded by the force of the droid's attack. After only a few moments, however, he straightened again and deactivated his saber pike's blade. He opened a comm channel to the other members of his team.

"How're you doing Jay?" he asked.

There was a grunt from her end, followed by the high-pitched _snap_ of her blaster. "Tough going," she replied breathlessly. "The guards are holding their own at the second security checkpoint, but we won't be able to hold 'em all back forever. Any sign of Kassh?"

"Not yet," Vhetin said, narrowing his eyes at the passage ahead, which was now littered by flaming puddles of fuel and smoldering bits of Darktrooper. "But he'll make it past eventually. Do you think he's actually here this time?"

"Oh yeah. I spotted him heading inside just a few minutes ago."

He nodded, satisfied. "All right. You know the plan. When he-"

"Oh kriff!" she suddenly said. "Damn it, there he is! All guards, do not kill the Twi'lek! Repeat, do _not_-"

The rest of the transmission washed out in static. Vhetin searched the other comm channels, but caught nothing.

_Damn,_ he thought. _They_ _must_ _be_ _jamming_ _our_ _communications._

He ignited his saber-staff once more and tensed, waiting. If the guards were holding their position at the second security checkpoint, that meant Kassh would be here in just a few minutes.

_I'm_ _ready_ _for_ _you_, Vhetin thought grimly. _Come_ _and_ _get_ _me._

* * *

><p>Kassh somersaulted behind cover, managing to take out two of the guards at the fourth security outpost as he did. After he'd caught his breath, he pulled a thermal det off the clips on his armored chest piece and lobbed it towards them. With a resounding explosion and a wash of flame, the det completely demolished the barricades at the checkpoint. Well-placed shots from his rifle quickly dispatched the few guards that survived.<p>

With his path clear, he set off towards the stairs that would lead him down to the crime lords' meeting room. With any luck, they were still barricaded in there, sucking their thumbs and hoping Cin Vhetin would be able to save them.

He knew that Vhetin and his new partner were here; he'd spotted the girl only moments before, as he'd snuck inside the warehouse. And seeing as how Vhetin was the most skilled bounty hunter present - save for maybe that damned Farnmir woman - he was most likely guarding the targets.

_No_ _matter, _he thought, his hand almost unconsciously resting on the lightsaber hilt buckled at his hip. _I_ _came_ _prepared_.

He came across three more guard stations on the lower floor, each set up in a cavernous storage room. Luckily, many of the rooms were full of supply boxes similar to the ones he himself had stolen to get his hands on his new lightsaber, so cover was plentiful. He made his way past the security checkpoints without too much trouble. It was slow going, but he was in no rush.

Finally, the final flight of stairs came into view. He jogged forward, hopping down the steps two at a time. And when he came to the bottom, he found - surprise, surprise - Cin Vhetin standing in the center of a small battlefield crammed into the cramped hall. Perhaps twenty bodies lay sprawled on the floor, all of them showing signs of lightsaber burns, high-heat amputations, or cauterized wounds.

Vhetin took three slow steps forward, blue saber-staff ignited in one hand.

"Put your weapons on the ground and your hands behind your head," he said slowly, pointing the glowing blade at Kassh's chest. His voice was low and full of suppressed fury.

Kassh grinned irritatingly and tossed aside his rifle, pulling his own lightsaber off his belt and activating the green blade with a familiar _snap-hiss_.

"I don't think so," he said slowly, unholstering a pistol in his other hand. "I rather enjoy my freedom."

"You don't want to do this," Vhetin said, his expression unreadable through his helmet's T-visored gaze. "You're worth more alive."

"Then stand aside," Kassh shot back, "and let me get on with my business."

"No."

Kassh grinned again. "Then let's play."

Vhetin made the first move, vaulting up the stairs and stabbing forward with his saber pike. Kassh easily dodged the blow and batted the saber aside. Vhetin used the counter to his advantage and spun in a full circle, coming at him from his other side. Kassh backpedaled and blocked the blows while firing at his opponent with the pistol in his other hand.

Kassh had a definite advantage; with a saber in one hand and a blaster in the other, he could unleash a flurry of blows that even Vhetin wasn't fast enough to counter. Even as he watched, three of his shots hit Vhetin in the chest and stomach plates, causing him to flinch slightly and giving Kassh an opening for more attacks.

However, he had traded strength and speed for greater weaponry. He was hard-pressed to keep up with Vhetin's attacks with a one-handed combat stance. He'd trained with melee weapons before, but didn't have the degree of experience that Vhetin had at his disposal. He was holding his own, but just barely.

Their fight took them back up the stairs, sparks cascading around them as the green and blue blades clashed and spun around each other. Kassh bared his teeth in concentration as sweat beaded his brow. Vhetin's faceplate was as expressionless as ever, and he pushed forward with a ruthlessness of intent that Kassh found admirable. Every strike, every counterattack, was meant to disable him and make him easier to turn in to his employers. If he'd had time between attacks, Kassh would have laughed.

Vhetin landed a kick in the middle of Kassh's face, his boot easily breaking his opponent's nose. Kassh barely even felt the blow, and he responded with one of his own; he pulled back his saber and fired his pistol three times at Vhetin's faceplate at point-blank range. Sparks flew as the rounds impacted against the weaker transparisteel T-visor, cracking the metal into thin radial spider web patterns. Vhetin grunted in shock and surprise and staggered back, holding his helmet.

Kassh moved to press his advantage, raising the lightsaber over his head. But Vhetin wasn't out of the fight yet; he whipped around and slammed the blunt end of his saber-staff into Kassh's solar plexus, winding him and causing him to stumble away as well. After a few pained, breathless moments during which they both regained their focus, their fight continued.

They fought their way back down the hall Kassh had blown his way through minutes before. The guards who had come to reinforce their fallen comrades seemed to debate about whether or not to interfere, glancing down at their blasters. They seemed to deem their intervention as futile and rushed off to help their comrades in other parts of the warehouse.

Kassh winced, quickly losing strength and ground as Vhetin's seemingly unending stream of brutal slashes and stabs wore at his stamina. The Mandalorian was good, there was no denying that. To combat that, Kassh needed a different tactic.

So, as they reached a side passage, he fired twice into Vhetin's already-wounded shoulder and took off down the hall as fast as his legs could carry him. Vhetin shouted in pain and crumpled, holding his smoking and bleeding arm.

Kassh grinned and turned another side passage, blocking the bounty hunter from view. If he was lucky, he could double back past him and get to the crime lords before-

The butt of a blaster suddenly flashed into view and impacted hard against his forehead. He tripped, his momentum sending him sprawling unceremoniously across the floor. He blinked stars from his eyes and tried to rise, but a boot in his back pushed him back down.

"Hey there," came the voice of Vhetin's partner. "We've got a lot to talk about, you and me."

"Do yourself a favor," Kassh grunted, his face pressed against the cold duracrete floor. "Cuff me now before you get hurt."

The woman laughed, her pistol aimed at the base of his neck. "I don't think so. I've got you right were I-"

She was cut off as Kassh suddenly rolled over, activating his lightsaber and slashing it across her face. She started and jerked back, the humming blade missing her by only centimeters. She stumbled back, startled off balance, and Kassh scrambled to his feet once more, sprinting toward the stairs at the end of the hall. He vaulted down the entire seven-stair flight in a single bound, landing hard and continuing deeper into the warehouse without looking back.

That had been too close.

But as he turned another corner, he saw the angular shadow of Vhetin approaching from the end of this passage. His saber-staff was lit in one hand, and as he slowly stepped closer, he growled, "You'll pay for that, _ner_ _vod_."

Kassh turned, meaning to double back the way he'd come. But even as he spun around, the woman jumped down the last few stairs and approached him, her pistol raised and aimed steadily at his chest.

"Hands in the air," she said, shaking hair from her eyes. "Don't make us shoot you."

Kassh scowled and raised his own pistol at her. He glanced over his shoulder, pointing his lightsaber blade in Vhetin's direction. "Leave me alone. I'm not going to be brought in again by the likes of you bounty hunters."

"Give it up, Kassh," Vhetin said, dropping into a combat-ready stance. "The guards are mopping up your mercenaries as we speak, the crime lords are safe, and you're cornered."

"You've lost," the woman said. "Drop your weapons."

Kassh sneered at them, his lip curling in anger and disgust. "You may think you've won, but you've forgotten one thing: only one of you is wearing armor."

He turned his gaze to the woman fired his pistol three times. She screamed as the red bolts tore through her thin jacket like a knife through flimsi. She dropped her gun with a clatter and sprawled to the floor. Kassh grinned as he shot the woman twice more to make sure the job was finished. She took one last gasp and didn't move again.

"_Jay_!" Vhetin shouted in shock, taking a single step forward. Kassh brandished his saber in the Mandalorian's direction, and Vhetin's gaze snapped to him. His expressionless T-visor was made all the more threatening by the transparisteel that had been cracked by Kassh's blaster shots.

"Back up," Kassh threatened. "Now."

Vhetin didn't listen. With a shout of fury, he jumped forward, whirling his saber-staff in front of him. There was no restraint now; the bounty hunter was working to kill.

Kassh grimaced in concentration as their duel began again. But now he knew that there was no going back. He may be an accomplished swordsman, but he was no match for a Mandalorian of Vhetin's stature, even less so when Vhetin was in a berserker rage such as this.

Sparks lit the dark hallway sporadically, throwing menacing shadows up on the dirty walls. Vhetin drove Kassh back down the hall, spinning and slashing with all his strength. Kassh did his best to transfer to the offensive, but couldn't keep up with all of Vhetin's attacks. First he took a slice to the shoulder, then a light blow to the left leg. As Vhetin pressed his attack, his lightsaber casing blue arcs around his black-armored body, Kassh began to actually worry for the first time in many years.

He raised his pistol, but the glowing lightsaber blade severed it in half, taking the better part of his right hand with it. He screamed as the wound smoked and smoldered, but his concentration on the task at hand didn't allow him to stop his motions. He was now acting purely on instinct, doing his best to block Vhetin's attacks.

He soon realized, however, that the bounty hunter was tiring; he could hear him panting, his breath coming in rasping gasps over his helmet's vocoder. His wounded arm was doing little more than hanging at his side, blood leaking down out of the wound that Kassh had made earlier. The strength in Vhetin's attacks was fading, and his defense began to falter.

Kassh managed to slam the hilt of his saber across Vhetin's helmet as the bounty hunter pulled back for another stab at his chest. Vhetin faltered, taking two steps back and shaking his head, and Kassh moved forward for a killing blow. He raised his lightsaber, cradling his wounded hand to his chest, and stabbed forward.

* * *

><p>"<em>Hurts, doesn't<em> _it?_"

A voice, speaking as if from many years ago. Yet it had only been less than a month since then; curious.

A face faded into view, wavering as if seen through watery eyes. As it slowly resolved, it revealed itself to be the face of a clone.

_Tammer!_

But no, it wasn't her old friend, the prison guard. This clone had only stubble for hair, and was wearing a sympathetic expression. Jaing. Jaing Skirata.

"_Wait_ _till_ _you_ _feel_ _the_ _real_ _thing_," he said, his voice echoing as if from down a long tunnel.

The image stuttered like a hologram, then shattered like glass with a painful explosion of noise and feeling. Jay gasped, her eyes flying open as she clutched at her stomach and chest.

"_Cheating_ _is_ _fine_," came Vhetin's voice, echoing like Jaing's. "_But_ _it's_ _more_ _than_ _what's_ _fair_ _and_ _what's_ _not. You_ _have_ _to_ _do_ _whatever_ _it_ _takes_ _to_ _win. You_ _need_ _to_ _be_ _able_ _to_ _kick, bite, pull_ _hair-_"

_Get_ _shot_, she thought with another gasp. She rolled over onto her back, seeing sparks fly through her watery vision. Vhetin was engaged in another duel with Kassh. He was holding his own, but she could tell even in her wounded state that his shoulder was slowing him down. He was favoring his other arm, using his wounded arm as little as possible.

As she watched, she saw Kassh raise his pistol. Vhetin planted a foot forward, hooked his saber-staff around, and sliced the blaster in half. The blade also cut through most of Kassh's hand, leaving behind little more than a cauterized stump.

Kassh's scream of pain and anger seemed to snap some sense back into her, and she shook her head to clear it.

_Get_ _up_, she thought to herself. _Get_ _up. You've_ _still_ _got_ _a_ _job_ _to_ _do._

Slowly and with a groan of effort, she pushed herself to her feet and limped toward the duel. Every muscle screamed in protest, but she gritted her teeth and moved forward.

As Vhetin pulled back for a stab, Kassh caught him across the helmet with the hilt of his lightsaber. Her partner stumbled back, letting out a surprised gasp.

Now was the only moment she would get. As Kassh stepped forward, preparing for a killing blow, Jay raised her pistol and shot him in the back of the head.

A blue white ring of energy spouted from the end of her pistol barrel with a crackle. It enveloped Kassh with a sizzle and the Twi'lek suddenly convulsed, dropping the lightsaber as the blade slashed toward Vhetin's chest. The weapon bounced once and rolled down the hall, deactivating with a hiss.

Kassh fell to the ground as well, quivering and letting out little grunts with each spasm as the stun bolt got to work on his nervous system. Within moments, he was unconscious.

Vhetin jumped into action; dropping his own weapon and whipping a pair of stun cuffs from his belt. With a single motion, he pulled Kassh's twitching hands behind his back and snapped the shackles around his wrists. Once done, he slumped and let out a long breath.

"Got him," he breathed.

He glanced up at Jay, panting hard. His T-visor was cracked and splintered in three different places, and his armor was marked with blaster burns and the sleeve of his wounded arm was stained red to the elbow. He looked like he'd just fought through hell and back, and she was sure that she looked the same.

"Are you all right?" he asked, cradling his wounded arm against his chest. "How did the armor hold up?

Jay grinned and lifted the hem of her shirt, revealing the armor-plated sparring vest she was wearing beneath. The blaster bolts from Kassh's pistol had hit her in the stomach and chest, leaving the light-grade _beskar_ plates burned and twisted, but intact.

"I'm good," she said, running a hand over the warped metal. "I'm sore as hell, but I'm good.

"But," she said, lowering her shirt with a weary sigh, "next time, you can play dead while I distract the bounty. 'Kay?"

He nodded with a weary chuckle and pulled a comlink from his belt. "Farnmir," he said, "is the warehouse secure?"

"Yeah," came the reply. "The last of Kassh's thugs are cornered in the southeastern supply room. There's only one way in and out, and the room's empty. We've got 'em."

He nodded, visibly slumping in relief. Jay could see why; they'd gotten their bounty, their employers were safe, and no one was dead. That was a 'mission accomplished' in anyone's book.

Jay pulled her own comlink and dialed in a code. "Jao-Dun," she said, "we need a med team down in hallway C-Eight-Three right away. We've got a stunned Twi'lek and a wounded Mandalorian down here."

"Sure thing," the Zabrak guard replied.

Vhetin glanced up at her, tipping his head to the side, but seemed to be too tired to tell her that he'd be fine. He let his back slap against the wall behind him and he slowly slid down into a sitting position.

"And," Jay added with a triumphant grin, "inform Prince Xizor that he owes us a hundred thousand credits."

* * *

><p>Later, after Kassh had been secured in a hastily made a cell guarded by Xizor's lethal bodyguard, Guri, and after Vhetin had grudgingly accepted to have his arm examined, he, Jay, and Farnmir were standing in the presence of the crime lords once more.<p>

"We are all in your debt," one of the Twi'lek gangsters was saying, nodding to himself. "If not for your courage and determination, we would all be dead."

Farnmir sighed, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot impatiently. Vhetin shot a glance in her direction, but said nothing.

Sekha nodded to herself, a playful grin crossing her features. "Indeed. It seems we all owe you, bounty hunters. I am sure that without your presence, we would all have perished."

Next to speak was Jabba the Hutt. He shifted his slimy bulk on his repulsor sled and rumbled in Huttese, "Hmm... your work was adequate. Not deserving of full payment, but-"

"What?" Farnmir said, narrowing her eyes. "We just saved your fat bulk from-"

"The fact that he was able to attack our meeting place is proof enough of your incompetence," the fat slug replied with a self-satisfied belch. "Fett would never have allowed that."

"_Fett_ wouldn't have organized the entire guard into a fighting force, single-handedly tackled a psychopathic Gen'dai enforcer, and-"

Prince Xizor raised a thin-fingered hand and said, "Enough. Your performance was more than adequate. As it is, it is his Illustriousness Jabba that is providing the credits for this bounty, therefore the ultimate terms of the payment are up to him."

He fixed the Hutt with a narrow-eyed stare. "I would _suggest_ that he choose his next course of action wisely," he said slowly. "Bounty hunters are a great asset as long as they are _satisfied_ with the _proceeds_ of their work."

Jabba rumbled in irritation, licked his slimy lips, then said, "Sixty thousand. No more."

Farnmir looked furious enough to kill, but Vhetin quickly interceded.

"Seventy," he countered.

"Sixty-five."

"Seventy," he pressed.

Jabba narrowed his reptilian eyes, then grudgingly nodded. "Very well. Seventy thousand credits."

"_Each_," Farnmir said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jabba boomed indignantly. He belched and said, "Even Fett wouldn't charge that much. At least not if he had done as bad a job as you three."

Jay shrugged ruefully, casting Farnmir a sympathetic glance. "It was worth a shot."

Xizor nodded to himself, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his purple-black robe. "Very well. The credits will be transferred to your public accounts in untraceable credit deposits."

Vhetin bowed his head. "Just make sure Kassh doesn't escape again."

Xizor narrowed his eyes, a malicious grin stretching across his leathery face that revealed sharp yellow teeth.

"Do not worry," he said. "I will oversee his execution personally."

"Then our business is done," Farnmir said, surprising Vhetin by nodding respectfully to the crime lords. After a moment, Jay did as well, and the three of them left the room.

They walked in silence for a time until the front doors of the warehouse came into view. Then Farnmir turned to them and said, "Well... I guess this is it."

Vhetin nodded silently, folding his arms across his chest. Jay smiled and nodded as well.

The older bounty huntress hesitated, then held out her hand. "As much as I hate to say it, it's been a pleasure working with you two. You're good; better than any hunters I've seen in a long time."

"Thanks for the compliment," Vhetin said, shaking the offered hand. Farnmir nodded to him, then turned to Jay.

"Rookie," she said, "keep out of trouble."

"Yeah," Jay laughed, shaking her hand. "When Mustafar freezes over."

With a last good-bye, Farnmir turned and headed out the doors to her ship. After a few moments, the _Tough_ _Luck_ lifted off into the air with a rumble of ion drives and disappeared into the crowded skylanes. The sun was just rising across the cityscape, painting the sky a pale purple-blue.

Jay smiled as they walked toward the doors. "And to think that the only reason we met her was because she was trying to kill us. Weird galaxy, huh?"

"Keep that in mind," Vhetin said. "I don't think we've seen the last of her. We may need to remind her in the future that we're allies, not enemies."

"So what now?" she asked him. "We just go home?"

He nodded. "To warm food, hot showers, and a city full of people who couldn't give a _shab_ who you are."

"And who _definitely_ don't try to kill you while you're walking down the street," she laughed. "Yeah, that sounds good to me."

As they walked up the ramp to _Void_, Jay headed straight for her temporary quarters, saying that she was going to get some sleep while they headed back to Mandalore. Vhetin nodded and headed to the cockpit, meaning to check up on his credit accounts to make sure that Jabba had come through on his payments.

As he slid into the comfortable pilot's seat, he let out a sigh and pulled off his helmet, turning it over in his hands as he ran the ship computer through the pre-flight systems check. Kassh's blaster bolts had cracked the transparisteel T-visor beyond simple repair, and his HUD systems were completely fried. He'd need to stop by MandalMotors once he got home to see if Ume'o could get him a replacement.

Setting the helmet aside, he pulled up his credit account summary. Jabba had indeed come through on his payments; small amounts of credits had been paid to all of his many public accounts before being funneled into his hidden account in untraceable computerized credits.

He let out a content sigh and put his hands behind his head, leaning back in his seat.

After a few moments of silence, the systems check beeped quietly, signaling that it had found something out of place. His eyes instantly snapped open and he sat up in his chair.

The diagnostic stated that there was been something wrong with his ship's bounty database; the computer file where he kept records of all the potential bounties his many contacts had supplied him with recently. There were too many to sift through at once, so he simply filed them away for later perusal. But the system diagnostic stated that there were no files in that folder. That meant they'd either been erased or-

_Or_ _downloaded_.

His mind suddenly flashed back to their hasty attack planning on Tatooine, when they'd thought that Kassh was hiding in his Midnight Ultraviolet base outside Anchorhead.

"_We'll_ _need_ _an_ _eye_ _in_ _the_ _sky_," Jay had said. "_Someone_ _who_ _can_ _provide_ _air_ _support_ _and_ _keep_ _an_ _eye_ _out_ _for_ _Kassh_ _at_ _the_ _same_ _time._"

_Void_ had been the only ship with the stealth capabilities needed to sneak past the perimeter defenses. And since Vhetin had volunteered for the advance prepwork on softening up the enemy forces in the area, he couldn't pilot his own ship.

"_I'll_ _take_ _that_ _job_," Farnmir had unexpectedly volunteered, carefully avoiding Vhetin's gaze and pretending to study the hologram schematics of the base. "_I_ _can_ _also_ _fly_ _Vhetin's_ _ship_ _in_ _and_ _drop_ _him_ _off._"

Now he knew exactly what she'd been doing in his ship while flying him into Kassh's base. She'd been downloading his entire bounty database, stealing the leads that she didn't have the contacts to learn about.

He sat back again as he warmed the engines, shaking his head as disbelieved smile stretched across his face. He chuckled as he grasped the control yoke and lifted his ship off the duracrete landing pad.

_Well_ _played, Farnmir,_ he thought. _Well_ _played. You're_ _smarter_ _than_ _I_ _gave_ _you_ _credit_ _for._

_And_ _we'll_ _definitely_ _see_ _you_ _again. I'll_ _make_ _sure_ _of_ _that._

Then he made for open sky, heading for orbit and from there, home.


	7. Epilogue

Epilogue

**Two** **days** **later**

Jay strode toward the small square in front of the _Oyu'baat_, the formal gathering place for the weekend Keldabe Market Day. She was on her own in the city for one of the first times since arriving on Mandalore, and she now had a rather hefty amount of credits to help her start her life over again.

All across the _Oyu'baat_ square, tents and stalls had been erected selling food, trinkets, jewelry, equipment, and weapons. Jay stopped near a black show tent, where a bulky Mandalorian with tattoos on his bald head was selling variations of a lethal-looking Mandalorian sword called a _beskad._

Interesting, but not exactly her combat specialty. She looked around for a bit, then nodded respectfully to the _Mando_ and continued on her way.

She finally stopped by a hastily-made gray stall selling equipment and accessories for bounty hunters and mercenaries. There was rappelling wire, gauntlet rocket darts, rolls of whipcord, different forms of clothing and armor, and long-lasting armor paints. It was run by a gaunt-faced woman with gray hair and dark eyes. Jay stepped forward and nodded to a jacket hanging behind the woman's head.

"Can I see that?" she asked.

The woman nodded silently and passed her the jacket. It was a fairly heavy piece of clothing, made of some durable kind of black leather with heavy armored shoulder pads and lots of pockets for storing all kinds of hunting gear. There were even slots inside the hem for slipping in armor plating.

She tried it on and found that it not only fit, but that she didn't look too bad in it either. It was lighter than it looked, weighing only a little more than her old uniform jacket. It was comfortable, too, and would offer moderate protection against the elements.

"What material is this?" she asked, stretching out the sleeves as she extended her arms.

"Triple-weave Armorleather," the woman replied in a gruff voice. "A new _Mando_ material designed specifically for mercs and _beroyas_. That _osik_ is tough enough to stop a knife."

Jay nodded, impressed. It wouldn't be a bad investment; her only set of clothing was the remnants of her old Navy uniform, and she felt pretty silly walking around in a wrinkled, stained, blaster-scarred Imperial flight suit in a city full of people fed up with Imperial supervision. And if what the woman said was true, it would help her new career. She'd been shot twice during her last mission; a little extra protection would go a long way.

She glanced up at the woman and asked, "How much do you want for it?"

"Eight hundred creds should do it," the woman replied, holding out a hand for the money.

Jay fished in her pocket, realizing that the price would be outrageous anywhere else, but that it barely put a dent in her own credit pool. She handed over the credits, thanked the woman, and continued on her way.

She shopped absently for a while longer, picking up a bottle of _tihaar_ here, a bag of sweetbread rolls there, all the while thinking about the sudden influx of credits to her hidden account.

Though it was nice not to have to live off of Rame and Mia Omotao's kindness and credits, she just didn't know what to _do_ with her cut of Kassh's bounty. It was more money than she'd had in her entire life, and she didn't think it right to just sit on it for years. Even though Vhetin had told her that very few bounties were so rewarding, the amount of digits in her credit account still surprised her days after receiving the money.

She could send it back to her family on Corellia. It was a tempting thought, but apart from occasionally missing her younger sister, she didn't really miss her home that much. Her childhood had always been crowded and tense; she loved her family simply from a place of familiarity, but she didn't think they needed her help. In fact she had never thought so.

Besides, a sudden package of thirty-five thousand credits would look pretty suspicious, and might leave a trail that the Empire could follow back to Mandalore, compromising her safety and the safety of all her new friends.

So what? Donate it to some charity? The thought sounded rather tempting to her, but where would she send it?

Her gaze fell on the scruffy _Oyu'baat_ tapcaf. Would Aramis accept the credits? Probably not; he was proud of the work he'd done since taking over management of the cantina, and he was unlikely to accept charity from others. But as she looked around the run-down, poverty-stricken city, her gaze lingering especially on a squad of shiny white-armored stormtroopers who were standing guard over the Market Day proceedings, a thought came to her.

She didn't want to keep the money, and her actions would probably go unnoticed, but that wasn't the point.

She walked into the cantina, where Aramis and his kitchen staff were just serving up lunch. When he saw her enter, he nodded in greeting.

"Getcha somethin' _aruetii_?" he said. Over the months of her staying at the tapcaf, the word had grown to sound less like an insult and more like a name. It wasn't meant to insult her, she knew, but it was what Mandalorians thought when they saw her all the same.

She slid into a seat at the bar and nodded. "Yeah. I want to get a meeting with whoever's in charge of Mandalore."

"You mean the Imperial Governor?" Aramis said, raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean," she replied.

"Then you'll want to talk to Fenn Shysa."

"Fenn Shysa," Jay echoed. "And where would I find him?"

Aramis nodded to the booths along the eastern side of the cantina. "He's sittin' right over there. Second booth down, green-red armor."

Jay thanked the bartender and headed in that direction. Sure enough, sitting in the second booth down the aisle was a man wearing scarred green-and-red armor. He had a handsome face, long blonde hair and a short beard. He had set aside his helmet while he sat down to eat, and she saw that there was a symbol painted in white across the forehead of his helmet.

The symbol was known as the Jaig eyes, kind of like a Mandalorian version of the Corellian Bloodstripe award for outstanding bravery. What kind of deed could warrant such an honor was beyond Jay. _Mandos_ were very flexible about what was expected of their comrades, and not many acts of courage were rewarded. Rame had told her once that in their culture, most acts of bravery or valor were simply part of being Mandalorian; they didn't even have a word in their language for 'hero.'

Either way, she knew immediately that this was a man she could trust completely.

She stopped near his booth and quietly said, "Excuse me."

He glanced up at her, raising an eyebrow curiously. He set aside his knife and fork and asked, "Can I help you?" He had a strong accent, and the words came out as, _Canne_ _help_ _ya?_

She gestured to the booth on the other side of the table. "Can I sit for a minute?"

He nodded. "Sure thing."

She slid into the booth and said, "Um... I have something to give you."

He narrowed his eyes cautiously. "It wouldn't be small and round and made of high-heat baradium, would it? 'Cause I've had enough _aruetiise_ lobbin' grenades in my direction to last a lifetime."

She shook her head. "No. But I've just come across a fairly large amount of money that I don't know what to do with. I was wondering if you could help me out with it."

"Want my advice?" he said with a grin. "Buy yourself a MerrSon rotary blaster cannon. I've always wanted one of them."

She shook her head. "You misunderstand. I want to give this money to you. To help out the Mandalorians."

She gestured out the window, to the urban decay that gripped the city. "I know you _Mando_s don't care much for outward appearance, but I want to help out any way I can. I have thirty-five thousand credits for you to use as you see fit. And if I ever get my hands on this much cash again, I'll give that to you as well."

"Why?" he asked. "Why would an _aruetii_ want to help us simple mercs out?"

"Because I'm like you," she said. "A 'simple merc' who wants to contribute."

"How?"

"Just imagine how much help thirty-five thousand credits would be in keeping the Empire at bay," Jay said quietly. "At giving you _Mandos_ a leg-up and keeping the Imps out of all of our businesses. You know more people around here than I do; can you get this money to someone who'll use it wisely?"

He stared at her for a long time, as if testing her for any signs of dishonesty. After a time he nodded slowly, almost to himself.

"All right, _aruetii_," he said, his voice almost as quiet as hers. "You've got yourself a deal."

* * *

><p><strong>MandalMotors<strong> **Tower**

Vhetin strode through the front lobby doors of MandalMotors, tucking his damaged helmet under his arm as he walked. He was currently wearing one of his backups with the lower-grade HUD systems that was nowhere near as advanced as the systems in his normal helmet. It was an annoyance, but Ume'o and his engineers would be able to fix his damaged kit within a few days.

As he stepped through the lobby, past the exhibits of previous Mandalorian workmanship, he paused to wait by one of the exhibit of the sleek new X-22 Skyraptor Interceptors that Ume'o had personally unveiled a few months before.

He examined the ship; sleek, smooth, and daubed in reflective silver-black paints, the ship boasted a trio of high-power blaster cannons, a retractable ion cannon mounted to the bottom, and a spring-out rack of proton tracking torpedoes. It also was outfitted with four ion engine drives supported by a powerful hyperdrive system, which made it one of the few hyperspace-capable starfighter models in the galaxy. And on top of this, there was plenty of room for pilots to make their own adjustments and additions according to their particular tastes. In all, Vhetin agreed with ship dealers in the claim that it was one of MandalMotors' best inventions to date, and the entire engineer team was extremely proud of it. Some of them even referred to the ship as their _cyar'ika,_ their darling.

He frowned thoughtfully and turned his thoughts to the aftermath of the Kassh contract.

Tarron had greeted them with a weary grin when they'd returned home and told them that Kassh was incarcerated in a super-max Black Sun prison in an undisclosed location. There was no way the Twi'lek gangster would escape again.

The crime lords had successfully concluded their negotiations and decided that - for the moment - it was best _not_ to join forces with the Empire after all. The debate would continue, but it was now none of Vhetin's business. Still, he found it interesting and rather ironic that after all Kassh had done to make them pay for disagreeing with him, they had actually agreed with him in the end.

He was sure that Kassh did not find it so humorous.

Farnmir had disappeared almost as soon as leaving Coruscant, and even Vhetin's well-placed contacts had no clue as to her whereabouts. Vhetin knew they'd run across her again sooner or later, and he knew that he would have to take extra precautions with the system firewalls for his ship's computers. He didn't hold Farnmir's actions against her; it had been a smart move, downloading his bounty database. But it would be a cold day in hell before he'd let someone steal anything from him without consequences.

Jay was recovering nicely from her first bounty hunting mission. She seemed to be back to her old self, as cheerful and sarcastic as ever during the few times he'd spoken to her since their return. Vhetin was glad she was bouncing back so quickly, seeing as how she'd endured much more than the usual hunter would have to put up with.

But she'd earned her first battle scars - even if bacta treatment on their wounds had left them both with little more than a few bruises - and she had told him that she was now ready for anything. Vhetin believed her, and reminded himself to thank her the next time they spoke. She had saved his life more than once, from freezing to death on Rhen Var to almost being impaled by Kassh's lightsaber. That wasn't just a testament to her abilities; he _owed_ her.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned.

"So," Ume'o said, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "The _vode_ tell me you were shot in the face."

"Face_plate_," Vhetin corrected, offering his damaged helmet to the engineer.

Ume'o took it, scratching his bald head and frowning thoughtfully. He turned the helmet over in his hands, examining the cracked T-visor and the warped HUD projectors mounted inside.

"Think you can fix it?" Vhetin asked.

Ume'o shrugged. "You've outfitted your _buy'ce_ a little past what we're familiar with, but we'll certainly give it a try. What kind of HUD system upgrade are you working with?"

"T-21 Gamma Version," Vhetin answered, his gaze suddenly drawn back to the Skyraptor fighter. As he'd thought about Jay's above-average performance during the Kassh contract, an idea had come to him. A way to show his appreciation beyond a simple 'thank you'. She deserved more than that.

He nodded his head toward the Skyraptor Interceptor. "Hey Ume'o," he said thoughtfully, "what's the going price for an X-22 on the ship market?"

Ume'o glanced up at him, then turned his scrutiny back to the helmet in his hands. "Uh... around twenty thousand credits without the special weapons upgrades and _beskar_ plating. All that's extra."

"And what would it cost for one with all the upgrades with the special _Mando'ad_ cost discount?"

Ume'o looked up again, staring at him with interest. "Why?" he asked. "You looking to buy?"

"It depends."

"On what?"

Vhetin turned back to the engineer and grinned beneath his helmet. "On whether you deliver 'em gift-wrapped."

_To_ _be_ _continued_ _in_ _Star_ _Wars: White_ _Snow: Justice_


End file.
